Annemarie Ard Koppisch
Mother of seven and avid Mets fan, 87
Annemarie Ard Koppisch, the proud mother of seven children, passed away Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, at the Princeton Care Center in Princeton, N.J. She was 87.
Born in Queens, N.Y., she was the youngest of five and the only girl. She grew up in Elizabeth, N.J., then moved with her husband, Dr. Arthur R. Koppisch, to Oklahoma, where he served in the Air Force, and later to Maryland when he pursued his studies in psychiatry. They were married for 60 years before he died in 2016.
Annemarie's Catholic faith was a large part of her identity. She was a 1949 graduate of St. Patrick's High School, where she was a cheerleader and played on the girls basketball team.
While raising her family, she attended several universities, including Kean, in pursuit of an English degree. She was a devoted New York Giants baseball fan and later switched her allegiance to the Mets.
After high school she worked at Merck in Rahway, N.J. The family lived in Roselle, N.J., and later Murray Hill, N.J., and she worked at the Oak Knoll School and Schlott Realtors in Summit, N.J. She retired in 1989 when she and Arthur moved to Kingston.
She is survived by her sons, John (Maureen) of Hoboken, N.J.; Mark (Leslie) of Bedminster, N.J.; Peter (Linda) of Bedminster; Paul (Kyong Suk) of Gainesville, Va.; Luke (Laura) of Mount Laurel, N.J., and David (Bridget) of Philadelphia. Her only daughter, Marianne Koppisch Tobler, died in 2018.
Annemarie is also survived by her sisters-in-law, Joan Ard, Mary Ard and Jean Koppisch Lutz, and 11 grandchildren: Sean, Erik, Jaclyn, Aaron, Seth, Tim, Ally, Julia, Abby, Ingrid and Daniel. Her brothers-Jack, Jim, Bill and Ed Ard-predeceased her.
Visitation is at Higgins & Bonner Funeral Home, Westfield, N.J., from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, March 3. A Funeral Mass will be said the next day at 11 a.m. at St. Joseph Church, Roselle. Burial will follow at Fairview Cemetery, Westfield.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Joseph's.