This Classmate Spotlight was authored by Michael Brusko.

Amy isn’t here to tell her story so I’m going to try my best to do it for her. Please keep in mind that most of this is from my point of view or perspective. It can’t be helped.

The best stories always begin with “Once upon a time” and this one does, as well…it was our senior year 1977. I met Amy in Mr. Shields’ history class where she sat in front of me. You may remember it was an open campus back then and I had “lunch” right before history. (Read into that what you will). One afternoon after an exceptionally good “lunch” I found myself in class looking at Amy’s long, beautiful hair. Really looking at it! Not sure what possessed me but I reached out and started to play with it. Just twisting the ends a bit or “twiddling”. Nowadays, you’d probably get arrested and it was a pretty weird thing to do. But weirder still was that she let me! History class was way more fun from that point on. I played with Amy’s hair every day until the end of the school year. By then I had worked up to doing the occasional braid for her. Good times. But school finished and I didn’t see her for 38 years. Meanwhile – Amy enrolled at George Washington University earning a bachelor’s degree in 1981. Seeking fame, fortune, and the lucrative job market, she moved to California. Giving it a fair shot she stayed a couple of years but ultimately decided to move back to New Jersey and beginning what would be a successful career in resource/operations management.  Amy was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis. These were debilitating and she was in a lot of pain. There were operations, hospital stays, therapy and extended recovery periods. Sadly, some of these issues would linger throughout her life.

But Amy was remarkably strong and resilient. What she couldn’t overcome she endured, rarely complaining about inconvenience or pain. Eventually Amy returned to full-time employment. Over the years, she worked for various companies including Arthur Anderson, Peoplesoft and Salesforce. Occasionally there would be overseas assignments for which she was always up. The girl liked to travel so why not spend three weeks in Japan? I think her interest in foreign lands began when Amy and brother Bernie were young. Their family started annual trips to Saint Martin. She continued this tradition in her adult life as much as possible. I went with her a few times. It was funny to hear all the street vendors in their distinctive Caribbean dialect saying “Hello, welcome back Miss Amy”. Everybody on the island knew her. The rent-a-car guy, hotel staff, blackjack dealers, and the women that work the beach braiding hair for tourists knew her! Everyone.

A very popular person Miss Amy.

Around 2005, Amy gave up apartment living and bought a log cabin house in Denville at Lake Arrowhead. She loved it. Meanwhile – I returned to NJ in 2015 after 34 years in Texas. Shortly after my arrival and through the miracle of Facebook I was invited to a mini LHS get together at The Star Tavern. That’s when I saw Amy after all the years. She asked if I remembered history class and we had a good laugh about all that “hair play”. We talked a lot that night, it seemed we had much in common. We ended up spending the next 10 years together.

Amy was working from home when I came into the picture but she seemed very interested in early retirement. (She retired in 2016) All that free time was terrific. Staying up late on weeknights (11:00). There were lots of concerts, dinners, Broadway shows and various get togethers. Fun!

Along the way Amy befriended the good people of Rosemarie’s Rescue Ranch. A group dedicated to saving, fostering, and finding permanent homes for dogs, cats, and occasionally other critters. In 2017 she began volunteering her time and talent to the cause. Amy gathered statistics and background info on the new arrivals. She interviewed foster families, selected pictures, and wrote profiles for each animal. There was a lot of satisfaction when a pet was placed. Amy loved “the girls”, their trips together and everything about it. It is a wonderful organization.

In November 2024, Amy was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Again, there were lots of doctors and hospital stays. But there was a lot of courage packed into her 5-foot frame. Amy went through it all with little fear and more dignity than you would’ve thought possible. She fought the good fight but lost the battle. Amy died May 20, 2025. The night Amy passed a line from an old “Wonder Years” episode flashed in my head. Older brother Wayne was very sad because his girlfriend had broken up with him. When asked why he felt so strongly about her he answered

“SHE MADE ME BETTER THAN I AM”.

That’s the way it was for me. That’s how I feel about Amy. I’ll bet some of you feel the same.

– mike b.🥁

For more information on Rosemarie’s Rescue Ranch, visit:  Rosemarie’s Rescue Ranch, Inc.