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Joan Silver Obituary
Born in Manhattan, NY to Anna and Abraham Silver, Joan lived with her family in Jersey City and Ridgefield, NJ before moving to Edgewater, NJ in 1994. Joan was predeceased by her parents, her beloved sister, Mary R Hayes of Freehold, NJ in 2011 and her big brother Burton (Bud) Silver of Burlingame, CA in 2014. Joan is survived by Bud's wife, Beverly Derish, who over the years, became a dear friend. She is survived by her very special niece Sharon Hayes and her husband Dr. Justin Hope, living in New York; special nephew. Dr. David M Hayes and his wife Zsofia and daughter Betsy, residing in Berlin, Germany. Also surviving are Joan's very special West Coast nieces, Leslie Silver and her husband Larry and son Benjamin of Napa, CA and Eileen Goldman, her husband Mark and daughter Allison of Los Gatos, CA.
As President/CEO of Reeves A/V Systems, Inc, in New York City for 30 plus years, Joan received many accolades and awards:
- In 1990, Joan was featured in INC Magazine for her marketing strategies (She was photographed in Grand Central Station in a red suit which she purchased just for this occasion)
- In 1996, Joan received the award of "Woman of the Year" from the American Biographical Institute's Board of International Research.
- In 1997, Joan and her mother, Anna, were presented with certificates by Deborah Hospital Foundation for "25 Years of Dedication." Joan and Anna had also received a Certificate for Life Membership in 1980.
- Joan was included in four chapters in Jill Griffin's award-winning book, "Customer Loyalty: How You Get It and How You Keep It." This book was translated into 40 languages around the world.
Many former associates stayed in contact with Joan, among them Ann Calcagno, Erik Thielking, Carl Schellenberger, Richard Terrana, Bob Sullivan, and last but not least, Steve Golub.
After Joan retired in from her long 30-year career, she hoped to play tennis every day; however, in 2013 she had open heart surgery and tennis time was reserved for watching TV. She had extraordinary tennis friends, many of whom played weekend tennis with Joan for over 40 years and thanks for the memories go to Lorraine Cerruti and Barbara Bardell.
Wishing her beloved sister, Mary, would have a lasting memorial, Joan created the Mary R Hayes Tribute Garden at Mercer Country Community College where Mary had been awarded the title of Professor Emerita for her achievements. Mary taught computer science/math for 26 years at Mercer College. This exceptional first of its kind "Sharing Her Love of Nature" tribute garden and gazebo were designed and built by Amy Ricco and her students of the Horticulture Division of Mercer College.
Joan and her family were especially grateful to Joan's special and forever friend, Tanya Olsen, who helped Joan throughout the years in happy and sad times.
Funeral service Tuesday, March 26th at 2pm at Beth Israel Woodbridge Cemetery.
If you would like to donate in Joan's honor, her beloved cat Kiki, was adopted from a local shelter, in cooperation with petsmartcharities.org.
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To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
5 Entries
Bob Sullivan
April 6, 2024
Joan will be missed. She had an inspiring career which is well documented, but her kindness and insight was an anchor for me. She got a kick out of life and always had a open door, where I certainly did come back to visit her at the office while working for Disney back in 1997. My prayers and condolences commiserating our collective loss, but what great memories!!!!
Bob Sullivan - SurferBob.com
Barbara Bardell
March 30, 2024
The first time I saw Joan, I saw an elegant lady wearing a silver coat and carrying a silver dog. We became good friends and tennis partners. She was very kind to me and my children. She bought my children dresses and videotaped their dance recitals (and mine) so we would always remember them. She took my daughters to the circus and hosted us all at the U.S. Open each year with great seats. She offered me a job at Reeves A/V and I worked there for a few years until I began my teaching career. She even offered my children summer jobs. I admired her tact and integrity when dealing in the business world. She will be missed.
Steve Golub
March 25, 2024
I, Steve Golub had the greatest respect for that woman who I saw almost every Thursday afternoon at Reeves A/ V Systems. I was her Panasonic Broadcast Video Representative.
We had a close relationship as I did with most of my largest dealers. She was so Professional and personable I always thinking of how I could help her compete with the larger accounts in the NYC area.
Joan had an emphasis on her team being the best at what they do. A spelling test was given to any candidate with tricky words like communication and recommendation so their interactions with Reeves clients would be professional and proper. I remember the INC. magazine article which she was so proud of. I always kept in touch with her even though we both retired.
Lorraine Cerruti
March 25, 2024
My first memory of Joan is when we met. I was a girl of 16, I think Joan may have been in her 30's. I was hitting balls on a tennis court. Joan was playing on another court. She commented that I was pretty good, and asked if I wanted to join her group. So I did. We played every Saturday and Sunday from 9-12. Joan always brought 2 new cans of balls. We did this for many, many years.
Every year Friends would get together and go out to dinner for one of our birthdays. Covid put a stop to this and we really had not got together after that.
Joan occasionally would have a computer problem. At first, I went to her house, but after that we were using software to connect remotely.
I'll remember her smile and her laugh. I'll see you on the tennis court!
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Robin Bardell
March 25, 2024
My mother, Barbara Bardell, and Joan were good friends in Ridgefield and a formidable doubles team with many tennis trophies to prove it. I learned to play tennis as a teenager and played tennis with my mother, Joan, and Lorraine Cerruti for about a decade after I graduated college. Joan was a Martina Navratilova fan and modeled her play after the superstar, being one of the few serve-and-volley players I knew and even buying the same racquet Martina played with. If you managed to pass Joan she would say, "You caught me zigging when I should have been zagging."
In addition to playing tennis with Joan, I have so many fond memories of her kindness to my sister and me when we were kids. Her beloved toy poodle Snookie was the entertainment at our birthday parties. Snookie knew many sophisticated tricks and I remember them to this day.
She would have us over to watch movies, which, in the days before cable, were Disney cartoons on a reel-to-reel projected onto the wall. She sometimes hired us to dog-sit Snookie.
Also Joan hired my mother, my sister, and me at various points to work for her at Reeves A/V.
Joan lived life on her own terms and was a force to be reckoned with in business, in life, and in the tennis courts. May she rest in peace.
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