Reitz Family Support Needed - Covid 19

10/16/20: - Memorial Services for Carolyn Martins-Reitz and Thomas Martins will be held at St. Casimir Church on Sunday, October 18, as part of the 9:30 a.m. mass.  The church is located at 91 Pulaski Street, Newark.  It will also be live streamed and anyone may join us by accessing the link posted here live on Sunday morning. >>  http://www.stcnewark.com/media/   

If you cannot be with us we ask you to please pray for their souls. We miss them very much and  our wish is that they both rest in peace.  Thank you all once again for your kind and generous support for the Reitz Family.  


4/7/2020: - Now that our sweet Thomas Martins has passed, I'm posting this note for anyone just finding this page so they are aware prior to reading the Reitz family story below.  The money donated to the family will be used towards funeral services, burials, and medical bills for both Carolyn and Thomas. 

3/30/2020
The virus affecting our entire planet has stolen the life of the kindest and strongest wife, mother, and friend imaginable. Additionally, her son Thomas, who has Down syndrome, is currently on a ventilator in the ICU at Clara Maass Medical Center in Belleville, New Jersey. Thankfully, he has been responding to treatment.

Carolyn Martins-Reitz (née Zjawin) was a talented fine artist and only 55 years of age. She worked in the art department of the Archdiocese of Newark, along with her daughter. Her constant smile and upbeat persona was uplifting to all who knew her. Since she moved in across the street from me in 1973, Carolyn has been the peas to my carrots for all of life’s milestones. My heart is broken for her family and the trials and financial burdens set before them.

Thomas Martins should be celebrating his big 3-0 on April 6th. He is my godson and the sweetest young man, who brings love and light to everyone he encounters. He is unaware of his mother’s passing. We pray along with his dad and sister for his full recovery. (Update: Sadly, Thomas passed away on the evening of his 30th birthday)

Rudy Reitz is Carolyn’s husband and he has raised Thomas as his own for more than two decades. Their daughter Sharon is 22. She is a graduate of Kearny High School and is just about to graduate online from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, her mother’s alma mater. Rudy is an ex-Marine who has been a fleet mechanic at AGL Welding Supply for over 35 years. The Reitz family is of great faith and a pillar at St. Casimir’s R.C. Church.

This family has been devastated by the coronavirus. Their world has been turned upside down. Please donate to help them move forward seamlessly as they grieve their wife/mother and son/brother. and reinvent themselves to a new way of life. No donation is too small.

 Thank you for reading, and may you all stay safe and healthy.

 Joni Forte-Lewin