Carl Zeitz

Carl Zeitz, longtime journalist, public servant, and devoted Bordentown resident, passed away peacefully on March 1, at the age of 83.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, he was the son of Abraham and Ann Zeitz. He was raised in Brooklyn and Island Park, New York, in a household that valued education, public service, and strong opinions about politics and baseball. His father served as a fundraising director for Yeshiva University, and his mother was a professor of nursing at Hunter College. Carl graduated from Hobart College in 1964 with a B.A.

Shortly after graduation, he served two years in the United States Army. After his military service, he began his career in journalism at the Providence Journal in Rhode Island, covering local politics. In 1968 he joined the Associated Press, first in Newark and later as AP Bureau Chief in Trenton, where he covered New Jersey politics, particularly the governor's office and state legislature. He later joined The Record (Bergen Record) as its chief state political reporter and columnist in Trenton.

In 1980 he was appointed by Governor Brendan Byrne to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission and was reappointed by Governor Thomas Kean in 1983, serving until 1988. After leaving public service, he founded his own public relations firm, Riverfront Associates, based in Trenton.

Carl and his wife, the late Elaine Bagan Zeitz, lived in Brooklyn Heights for several years, then briefly in Levittown, Pennsylvania, before moving to Bordentown, New Jersey, in 1975. In Bordentown, he and Elaine raised their family and became fixtures in the community, forming friendships that lasted decades. He later moved to Lawrence Township and most recently resided at Brandywine Serenade in Princeton.

He served as a member and later chair of the Bordentown Library Association, helping guide the library through a significant physical expansion and its affiliation with the Burlington County Library system.

An avid consumer of American literature and history, Carl was also a lifelong baseball fan - first of the Brooklyn Dodgers and, after their move west, the New York Mets. He took up golf after settling in Bordentown and remained a devoted enthusiast of classic film and the American songbook.

He is survived by his sons and daughters-in-law: Josh and Angela Zeitz of Hoboken, New Jersey and Nate and Alyson Zeitz of Seattle, Washington; and his beloved grandchildren, Lily and Naomi Zeitz, and Elliot and Sydney Zeitz. He took great pride in following his grandchildren's academic and athletic accomplishments.

Known for a gruff exterior that masked deep loyalty and affection, Carl had a dry and unmistakable sense of humor. He valued family, long friendships, spirited debate, and the life he built in the town he came to call home.