Susan Margel, née Bondra, born in Roselle Park, NJ on January 3, 1921 to Michael Bondra and Mary Prybulick. Following a brief illness, Susan died peacefully at Riderwood Village in Silver Spring (MD) in the company of her family on the evening of Thursday, January 10th, 2013, just a week past her 92nd birthday.
She is pre-deceased by all eight of her brothers and sisters: Michael Bondra of Roselle (NJ), John Bondra of Forked River (NJ), Mary Chase of Roselle Park (NJ), Anna Rabbitt of Union (NJ), Katherine Cannon of Carteret (NJ), Eva Tindall of Carteret (NJ), Joseph Bondra of Camp Hill (PA), and Peter Bondra of Plainfield (NJ).
She is pre-deceased by all eight of her brothers and sisters: Michael Bondra of Roselle (NJ), John Bondra of Forked River (NJ), Mary Chase of Roselle Park (NJ), Anna Rabbitt of Union (NJ), Katherine Cannon of Carteret (NJ), Eva Tindall of Carteret (NJ), Joseph Bondra of Camp Hill (PA), and Peter Bondra of Plainfield (NJ).
As a high-school teenager, Susan worked as a movie theater hostess and care-giver for several of her older siblings’ children – she used to joke that those experiences seasoned her for being a housewife and mother later on. During WW2 and the Korean Conflict, she was employed as a sewing-machine operator making parachutes at the Simmons Company in Elizabeth, NJ. After marrying Boleslaw (“Bill”) Margel in 1950 and relocating to Linden, NJ to start her family, she worked for 9 years on various shifts as a vinyl-record-press operator at All Disc Records in Roselle Park, NJ, and then for 7 years as an assembler at H.K.Porter Company, in Roselle, NJ.
Susan and her husband raised their family and resided in Linden, NJ for 34 years; they retired to Holiday City West at Berkeley in Toms River, NJ in 1984. While at Holiday City, Susan was an active member of the Women’s Club, and became “famous” as a costume-designer and costume-maker for the Variety Club’s annual show from 1987 through 1992. She was also an outspoken and instrumental advocate for the construction of the “Bimini Bridge” in Holiday City during the mid-1990’s. Susan and Bill relocated to Riderwood Village in Silver Spring, MD in May 2010.
Susan and her husband raised their family and resided in Linden, NJ for 34 years; they retired to Holiday City West at Berkeley in Toms River, NJ in 1984. While at Holiday City, Susan was an active member of the Women’s Club, and became “famous” as a costume-designer and costume-maker for the Variety Club’s annual show from 1987 through 1992. She was also an outspoken and instrumental advocate for the construction of the “Bimini Bridge” in Holiday City during the mid-1990’s. Susan and Bill relocated to Riderwood Village in Silver Spring, MD in May 2010.
In her leisure hours, Susan loved to sew, read mystery novels, do crossword puzzles, take long daily walks, go to the movies, travel on vacations, and spend “quality time” with her family.
Susan is survived by her husband Boleslaw “Bill” Margel of Silver Spring (MD), daughter Bernadette Margel of Elkridge (MD), and son William Walter Margel, his wife Mary (née Kwiecien) Margel, and grandchildren Lauren Holly Margel and James Michael Margel, all of Clark (NJ).
Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation, a Mass of Christian Burial, and a reception at the Riderwood (Silver Spring, MD) Chapel at 12 noon on Tuesday, January 15th. Susan will be interred at Woodbridge Memorial Gardens in Woodbridge, NJ. Visitation will be at the Lehrer-Gibilisco Funeral Home at 275 West Milton Ave., Rahway, NJ, 07065 (phone 1-732-388-1874) on Friday, January 18th, from 7-9 PM, and on Saturday, January 19th from 10-10:45 AM.
Relatives and friends are invited to join the family at the Ceremony of Farewell and Commendation to be held in the Chapel at Woodbridge Memorial Gardens at 11:30 AM on Saturday, January 19th. A reception will follow in The Olio Restaurant at The Renaissance Hotel, 515 US Highway 1 South, in Iselin, NJ 08830 (phone 1-732-634- 3600).
Expressions of sympathy may be mailed to the family at: 3154 Gracefield Road, Apt. HG-210, Silver Spring, MD 20904-0806.
In lieu of flowers or other gifts, Susan and her family ask that tax-deductible donations be made to “The Riderwood Benevolent Care Fund” and marked “In memory of Susan Margel”. Checks should be mailed to Riderwood Philanthropy Department 3110 Gracefield Rd. Silver Spring, MD 20904-1820.