10 Days until the Morristown Festival of Books!

The Morristown Festival of Books inaugural One Community,One Book initiative has been a great success!  Towns throughout Morris County, Libraries in both Morris and Somerset counties and individuals have jumped aboard to support the initiative. The Town Councils and Mayors of Butler, Florham Park, Mendham Twp, Morris Plains, Morris Twp, Morristown, Mount Olive, Netcong, Rockaway Boro, Roxbury, and Washington all have issued One Community, One Book proclamations urging their residents to read Lisa Colozza Cocca’s Providence.

Many book clubs in the area have been discussing Providence.
Pictured here is the Flanders Book Club get together.

Librarians around the area have been very enthusiastic about the One Book; engaging their book clubs in lively discussions of what Becky should do. I have to take a moment to thank Lotte Newlin, Library Director of the Kemmerer Library in Harding for allowing us to hold our kick-off event at her library. The event was fantastic and what a wonderful venue. If you haven’t been to the Kemmerer Library, it is definitely worth a look. Pick a good book off the shelf, and relax in a comfy reading chair looking out on the pretty pond out back.

A wonderful group of women donated funds to purchase Providence for many local Libraries. Through their generosity, Providence is also available in e-book format in the Morris County and Somerset County Library Systems. Look for a plaque in your Library copy thanking Modern Mondays.

Morristown Presbyterian Parish House

Now we are counting down the days (10) until the Morristown Festival of Books. At 3pm on September 27 in the Morristown Presbyterian Parish House, Lisa Colozza Cocca will take the stage to talk about creating Providence, her first fiction novel.  She will be taking questions from the audience. Personally, I hoping to hear a bit about how Lisa sees Becky, Rose and Georgina’s lives evolve after the conclusion of the book, say five years down the road. After Lisa has satisfied her readers’ curiosity, the program turns to the real world implications of Becky’s decision to run-away and raising Georgia. A panel of local experts: Judge Michael Wright (yes Mendham grads, OUR Mike Wright), Newbridge Services CEO Robert Parker and Brenda Mirley LCS, former Director Spence Chapin will discuss how the Morristown social services would help Becky, Georgia and Rose.

If you still haven’t read Providence, there is still time to pick up a copy. Bookworm, the official OCOB bookseller will be at the Parish House with books to sell. See you Saturday, September 27 at the Morristown Festival of Books.

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Obits aren’t Free Anymore

One of the bizarre, but interesting and useful bits of information I picked up during the process of my mother’s passing is regarding obituaries. While once considered news, in the tightening financial crunch newspapers have been facing for many years, obituaries are now considered classified ads. As such, the length of the record of your loved ones passing is counted by word and charged accordingly. Since it is now considered an ad, the rates fluctuate wildly region to region as well as the size and scope of the publication. 


We live in suburbia, our town’s weekly paper charges a couple hundred while the local daily rates are just under $400. The wider the reaching papers such as our state wide paper not only charges for the print ad, but an additional fee to publish it online as well. One story I recently heard was that the obituary in the New York Times for a stockbroker cost $12,000. That was more than the cost of his cremation and memorial combined. Obviously, obituary costs are now something you seriously need to consider when planning your loved ones final arrangements.

I want to thank my BFF Cathy McGuckin for helping our family write mom’s obit. For the record (and one that is still free), this is my mom’s obituary:

MT. ARLINGTON, NJ—Joyce D. Armstrong died on Friday, November 27, 2009, at Morristown Memorial Hospital after a brief illness. She was 77.

Born in Wilkensburg, PA, to the late Clinton and Mary (Ritts) Burket on October 23, 1932, she was a 34-year resident of Mendham until moving to Mt. Arlington in June, 2006.

Joyce graduated then worked at the Business Training College in Pittsburgh, PA, where she met her husband Joseph Armstrong. Joyce and Joe married on June 6, 1955, at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. She would fondly remember their ‘two-year honeymoon’ in Hawaii, while Joe served with the U.S. Marine Corps. Prior to their honeymoon, Joyce enjoyed working for Radio personality Mark Evans in Washington, DC.

Joyce was a member of the Newcomers’ Group of Mendham for more than 20 years and enjoyed playing in the bridge club. She also enjoyed traveling and the Naval Academy. Joyce will be remembered by friends and neighbors for her deep love of her family, her beautiful Mendham home—especially her porch swing, her Christmas Eve and Army-Navy Game parties, and her kindness.

She was predeceased by her brother Clinton (1993) and her sister Maybelle Gillespie (1992). Survivors include her husband of 54 years Joseph, her daughter Kimberly of Succasunna, her son Scott of Wilmington, NC, and her beloved grandson Colin of Rockaway.

A memorial service to celebrate Joyce’s life will be held at the Bailey Funeral Home on Saturday, December 12, 2009, at 1:00 PM. A reception will be held at the Elks Club in Gladstone. Entombment will take place at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD at the convenience of the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made in Joyce’s name to Cancer Center for Education and Patient Support Fund, Morristown Memorial Health Foundation, PO Box 1956, Morristown, N.J. 07962.

Arrangements are by the Bailey Funeral Home, 8 Hilltop Road, Mendham, NJ, 07945—(973)543-4720, www.baileyfuneralhomes.com.