Muriel Tesser Obituary (1925 - 2020)

Muriel Tesser (1925-2020) Survived by her three children and their partners: Jonathan Tesser and Kathleen Caputo, Julie Tesser and David Klein, Daniel Tesser and Gina Phelan Muriel Tesser was born to Reva and Morris Shamforoff on September 12, 1925, in New York City. She and her older sister, Thelma, were raised in the Bronx, amidst a large extended family who had emigrated from Ukraine at the turn of the century. Among her earliest memories were tales of anti-Jewish pogroms and her family being forced to hide in barns as they fled the Cossacks, before making their way to the United States. Muriel grew up during the Great Depression. She attended Hunter High School and then Hunter College in Manhattan. She held a number of jobs, including working at a Paramount theater, and eventually spent seven years at the Berlitz School of languages, where she served as a receptionist and office manager. She had many fond memories of her days at Berlitz and enjoyed meeting and working with the different clientele, who came from all of walks of life--including a young Marlon Brando, who would often stop by for visits during her lunch hour or invite her out for coffee after work. Muriel loved New York City, never identifying as anything other than a New Yorker, even after moving away from there, eventually to Cedar Grove, New Jersey, to raise a family with her husband, Norbert Tesser. The two had met at a shared vacation house in the Catskills not long after his return from Europe, where he served in the army during World War II as a corporal in a communications unit. They became inseparable, loving and supporting one another, growing together through 53 years of marriage. She and Norby shared a rich and fulfilling life, raising three children, Jonathan, Julie and Daniel, in whom they took great pride, instilling in them an appreciation for the arts, for open-mindedness, and diversity. They would regularly drive into New York to take in museums, music -typically jazz --and theater. They had many opportunities to travel, seeing much of Europe as well as Central and South America. Muriel and Norb met a number of kindred spirits who were to become lifelong friends when they helped found the Verona /Cedar Grove Showcase Players, a local theater group. Norb designed and painted sets and Muriel performed various functions on many productions, including acting, a pursuit she engaged in with growing seriousness as the years passed. She studied in New York with George Morrison, a leading acting teacher, and was acknowledged by her peers for her skill and emotional depth. Muriel was complex, possessing a strong intellect that was filtered through a seemingly inherent idealism, and was never shy about expressing her indignation at the social injustice she saw around her. She read avidly and served on the local library board, loved Scrabble (where she won more often than not), swam regularly at the Y, and went through life with an unfailing, sophisticated, and original sense of style. She was kind and giving, generous to a fault, and she will be greatly missed.