Zelda Bayer

MONROE TOWNSHIP – ZELDA BAYER passed away on Thursday, February 12, 2026, at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, NJ. She was 94 years old.

Born in Far Rockaway, NY, to Paul and Doris (née Dorf) Kahn, she resided there until 1958 before moving to Plainfield, NJ. She raised her children in East Brunswick, NJ before moving to Monroe Township, NJ 37 years ago. She and Gerald had a second home in Delray Beach, FL for many years and loved the spending the winter season in the warm sunny weather.

She graduated from the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in New York City and worked in retail at large department stores in NYC before moving to New Jersey. She had a keen interest in fashion and Zelda worked in makeup and fragrance sales at Macy's in East Brunswick and other department stores in New Jersey for over 20 years. She loved talking to customers and colleagues and learning about their lives.

In her spare time, she loved going to the beach at the Jersey Shore, socializing and playing Mahjong and Canasta with her friends. She was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. She took great pride in her children and grandchildren's achievements and accomplishments.

Zelda is predeceased by her husband of 58 years, Gerald Bayer, who passed in 2010; her parents, Paul and Doris Kahn; and her sister, Marilyn Crystal.

Surviving are her children, Jeffrey Bayer and his wife, Ellen, of Woodmere, NY, Bette Schenkel and her husband, Neil, of Cherry Hill, NJ, and Andrew Bayer and his wife, Lisa, of East Windsor, NJ; her grandchildren, Mark Schenkel, Amy Lake , Lauren Horowitz, Marci Bayer, Danielle Bayer, Stacy Bayer-Lipski, Benjamin Bayer, and Casey Bayer; and her great-grandchildren, Sophie, Joseph, Yehuda and Tova Horowitz, Maya Roth and Ryan, Lucy and Maggie Lake.

A chapel service will be held on Sunday, February 15, 2026, at 10:15 am at MOUNT SINAI MEMORIAL CHAPELS, 454 Cranbury Road, East Brunswick, NJ. Interment will follow at Wellwood Cemetery, West Babylon, NY. For directions, please view our "Events" listed below.