Gail Cusick

Gail M. Cusick (nee Murphy), age 79 of Wayne, died on June 30, 2019 with her family gathered at her bedside.  She had been a Wayne, NJ resident since 1966 before permanently relocating to Brant Beach, NJ on beautiful Long Beach Island.

Gail grew up in Bayonne, NJ and graduated from Bayonne High School in 1958 where she met her husband Robert.  “Murph,” as she was known then, went on her first date with Bob on a walk through the 16th Street Park and as fate would have it, fell in love and eventually married on November 9, 1963 at the 5Th Street Reformed Church in Bayonne.  After their marriage, Bob and Gail settled in Bayonne, NJ for a few years, but eventually wanted to move to the “country” where they resided in Wayne, NJ.  For over 30 years this is where Gail raised her children and made lifelong impressions with those who were fortunate to share her friendship.

For Gail, life revolved around family and friends.  She was a selfless person who was generous to a fault, always doing for others.  She loved to entertain for her family and friends.  Her home in Wayne or Brant Beach was always open, and only strangers would ring the doorbell or go to the front door as everyone that knew her would walk around back and come right inside thru the porch door and be greeted with a big hello and one quick question, “Are you Hungry?”  A fantastic cook, there was always great food to be enjoyed along with her warm conversations.  The best family memories were surely made at their home in LBI.  Her friends on the 60th Street block became some of the closest in her lifetime.  The summers seemed to be endless at the beach, and Gail simply loved to be with her family and friends on LBI.

Gail’s grandchildren meant the world to her and she loves them all to pieces.  There was nothing she wouldn’t do for them and she proved it often.  She was the most gracious and loving “Nana” to each of them, and summers at the beach won’t quite be the same without her there.  They will all remember her as their angel, always positive, caring and nurturing with her warm perfume and signature coral lipstick.

Gail is survived by her beloved husband Robert of Brant Beach, by her three children; Michael Cusick and his wife Karen of Wayne, Melissa Mathisen and her husband Tom of Wayne, Karen Raiser and her husband Mark of Wayne; six grandchildren, Alexandra Cusick, Nicole Cusick, Kaitlin Raiser and Robert Raiser, all of Wayne, Holly Shockley and her husband Greg of Peapack Gladstone, NJ, and Lindsay McDonald and her husband Ken of Whitehouse Station, NJ; as well as six great grandchildren; Gwenyth, Everett, Fletcher, Evelyn, Grant, and Bennett.  She was predeceased by her brother, Timothy Murphy, in 2013.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gail’s memory would be appreciated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959, www.stjude.org, or to the Wounded Warrior Project, Wounded Warrior Project, PO Box 758516, Topeka, KS  66675, www.WoundedWarriorProject.org.