Orie John Zym

Orie “John” Zym

Orie John Zym, known to most simply as John, passed away on June 11, 2026, at the age of 92. Born on November 6, 1933, in Paterson, he lived a long and meaningful life marked by devotion to his family, service to his country, and many years of friendship and community involvement.

John was the beloved husband of fifty-six years of the late Sandra (nee Grotsky) Zym, who predeceased him on June 26, 2016. He was a devoted father to John Joseph Zym of Pennsylvania, Richard Alan Zym and his husband Mark Debiak of Totowa, and Gary Andrew Zym and his wife Dawn of Wayne. He was also the loving brother of Roseann Monkowski of Pennsylvania and the late Donald Zym. John cherished his role as a grandfather to Matthew, Madicyn, Rihannon and Zachary as well as great-grandfather to Saylor.

A proud veteran of the United States Air Force, John served during the Korean War stationed in Oklahoma. He earned a bachelors degree in education from William Paterson College and while there, was a member of the Skull & Poniard Fraternity, the first fraternity established at William Paterson, an affiliation he valued as part of his college years.

After a short career as a high school teacher in Wayne NJ, John built a successful career as a salesman, working predominantly for C. Goodman & Co. in Paterson before retiring thirty years ago. He was respected throughout his professional life for his steady work ethic, friendly manner and sincere way he related to others and carried these qualities forward in retirement through soliciting local businesses to advertise in the Four Seasons Great Notch magazine.

He was active in the community, volunteering at the clubhouse and forming the Four Seasons Four Great Notch Veterans Club for which he was the founding member and president. John was also a member of Passaic County Elks Lodge #2111 in Totowa. Durning his lifetime, he enjoyed the simple pleasures of life having a love of music and vacationing, with cruises among his favorite way to travel and relax.

John will be remembered with love and respect by all who knew him. His life reflected service, loyalty, and devotion and his memory will remain a source of comfort and pride to his family and friends.

Visitation will be held on Thursday June 25th from 3-7pm at Bizub-Quinlan Funeral Home, 1313 Van Houten Avenue, Clifton. Funeral Friday June 26th beginning 10:45am from the funeral home with mass to follow at 11:30am at St. Philip the Apostle RC Church, 797 Valley Road, Clifton. Interment East Ridgelawn Cemetery, Clifton. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation (www.t2t.org), 2361 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island, NY 10306 would be appreciated. Please visit www.bizubquinlan.com to leave online condolences to John’s family on the Tribute Wall of his obituary page.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Orie John Zym, please visit our floral store.