Elder Robert F. Ryder

May 28, 1941 - April 4, 2020

Robert F. Ryder, a victim of Covid-19, was a longtime resident of Englewood and Tenafly, New Jersey. Born in Jersey City, he grew up in Cliffside Park, attending Cliffside Park High School and later Pace University.


He had a long, admirable career as a principal in the accounting firm of Weidenbaum Ryder & Co, Englewood Cliffs. In addition to auditing/tax planning for corporations and individuals, the company specialized in entertainment business management, international taxation, and real estate development.


He was a longstanding member of the Knickerbocker Country Club in Tenafly, a trustee of the Presbytery of the Palisades, and an avid skier in Davos, Switzerland.


Bob’s name was synonymous with the First Presbyterian Church of Englewood. He was an active member for 50 years, an Elder, and head of the Building and Grounds Committee. He had a wealth of knowledge about the history of the church, as well as an office filled with photographs and other archival materials.


After the devastating fire in the main sanctuary just before Easter 2016, Bob led the committee to repair, remediate, and renew the building. Architectural plans are completed, the famous Tiffany and LaFarge windows are repaired, and new state-of-the-art video equipment is ready to be installed. Unfortunately, Bob will not be here to see the fruition of his labors.


He was a loving grandfather, father, husband, brother, uncle, and friend and will be very much missed by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife of 55 years Barbara Leonard Ryder; his three children and their spouses, Christine Ryder Boyd (Raymond), Alison Ryder Schorr (Brian), Robert F. Ryder, Jr.; his grandchildren Ryder Boyd, Grace and Alexander Schorr, Gabriella and Robert F. Ryder, III; sister Janet Ryder Weis (Albert); brother-in-law William Leonard (Rosalie); sister-in-law Janet Leonard Murasky (Myron); and many nieces, nephews, aunts, cousins, and friends. Nicknamed “Captain” for his in-charge personality, he was a loyal and generous friend.


A memorial service will be held at a future date. Donations in his memory can be made to the Building Fund, First Presbyterian Church, 150 E. Palisade Avenue, Englewood, NJ 07631.

Beverly Rhinehart

September 16, 1934 - April 30, 2020

Beverly “Bev” Rhinehart, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, cousin and friend, was the only child of Safronia “Soie” Richards and George Canon Richards, a record merchant. Born in Brooklyn on September 16, 1934, young Beverly was raised in Harlem by her mother Soie, not far from her favorite aunt and uncle, Vera “Singie” and Raymond Adams, during a fabled time in the neighborhood’s history. Beverly graduated from Evander Childs High School in 1952 and studied fashion at the Fashion Institute of Technology where her oldest daughter and buddy Karen graduated.


Her love of fashion and textiles landed her a consultancy with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, where she produced a television segment on careers in the ready-to-wear industry for the Harlem Cultural Festival, which was broadcast by WNEW-TV. Beverly, always enthusiastic and upbeat, moved onto the Monsanto Corporation where she helped establish the company’s first archive and library in addition to arranging fashion shows and creating publicity materials.


In 1978, Beverly married Pete, her husband of over forty years, and embarked on a new adventure as the wife of an AT&T executive. Together she made a new life with Pete traveling the world, raising Robyn, their youngest daughter, and finding new interests with one being interior design. As many family and friends will attest, interior design was a favorite of Bev, who left behind an array of stylishly decorated houses scattered across New Jersey, New York, and Florida.


A life-long volunteer, Beverly devoted her free time to helping socially conscious organizations, including the League of Women Voters, Jack & Jill of America, Inc. (Morris and Bergen/Passaic County Chapters), and The Doll League, Inc. (Metropolitan Chapter). Bev also lent her time and talent to The Women’s Club of Englewood and The Jessie Banks Foundation both located in New Jersey. In 1997, Beverly joined the Englewood Woman’s Club, servicing as a member of the Education and Public Issues Committees. She also served on the Executive Board of the Club. An “awesome storyteller,” Beverly was the director of the Jessie Banks Foundation’s annual golf event and children’s scholarship fund. In “true Bev form,” she aided the organizations in setting a high standard of excellence.


Beverly is survived by her husband, Naseby “Pete” Rhinehart, Jr., her daughters; Robyn Rhinehart-Williams and Vivian Rhinehart; sons-in-laws Arnold Marshe and Justin McLaughlin Williams, and her three grandsons; Douglas, Jaylen, Miles and Langston. Her oldest daughter, Karen Kendle Marshe, pre-decreased Beverly in 2012.

“Unique in her class, style and grace,” Beverly will always be remembered as a dedicated and generous person, who touched the lives of many family, friends and colleagues with her warmth, wit and humor. As we reflect on “the legendary Beverly,” whose loving spirit is now stilled, we thank God for the gift that she was to everyone. “The social queen bee,” has left us with wonderful memories to cherish!


In lieu of flowers, the Rhinehart family respectfully requests that donations be sent to the www.jessiebanksfoundation.org.

Elaine Van Ost

December 11, 1929 - June 13, 2020

The bulletin for Elaine's funeral service is found here.


Elaine Van Ost, widow of Dr. William C. Van Ost, died on Saturday, June 13, 2020. She was 90 years old. She is survived by her two loving sons, James and William Youmans, and by her stepchildren, Lynn Van Ost, Michael Van Ost, and his wife, Vicki, as well as Jane Van Ost. She is also survived by two younger sisters, Jeanine Dinola, wife of Al Dinola, of Swartzwood Lake, N.J., and Jeanette Linder, of Portland, Oregon. In addition, she leaves behind a total of seven grandchildren, Paul, Meagan, Erik, Caighla, Travis, Will and Timur; and four great grandchildren, Savannah, Annalee, Levi, and Molly.

Elaine was born on December 11, 1929 at Jersey City Memorial Hospital, to Italian immigrants Gena and Jack Fioravera. She lived the first years of her life in Union City, New Jersey. Before she was ten, the family moved to Leonia, N.J., Elaine graduated from Leonia High School in the 1940s, and then studied commercial art in New York City. For many years she earned a living as a fashion artist, and she became known for her insouciant figurative drawings, and for her free and easy line.   

She married Peter Youmans, of Schenectady, N.Y., in spring of 1953. They had met as members of the Leonia Players Guild, an amateur theatre group. The couple lived for seven years on Grand Avenue in Leonia, during which time they had their first son, William. In 1960, they moved to 121 Palmer Place, Leonia. Elaine gave birth to their second son, James, in 1962. The family lived on Palmer until Peter and Elaine’s divorce in 1975.

She lived for two years on Grand Avenue again before marrying Dr. Bill Van Ost, pediatrician, on July 16, 1977. She subsequently moved into his home in Tenafly, where the combined family (jokingly referred to as ‘The Brady Bunch’) lived for almost twenty years, as the children grew up and moved out.

In the late 1980s, Bill and Elaine founded the Van Ost Institute for Family Living, an addiction counseling non-profit organization, which was in operation for over twenty years, and helped many people find productive lives in sobriety, and mended broken family relationships. The Institute was located at St. Paul’s Church on Palisade Avenue, Englewood. Bill and Elaine also co-authored and a book, Warning Signs, published in paperback in the 1990s by Warner Books. The book was a guide for parents on how to spot potential addiction in teenagers.

Elaine was an ebullient spirit. Nearly everyone who knew her remarked about her joyous laugh, and her sunny smile, and her whacky sense of humor. She took an avid interest in many things, including art, travel, figure skating, tap dancing, cooking, theatre (she acted in shows at the Players Guild and even co-wrote a children’s musical, Buckets and Buckets of Tears, with Helene Marshall Janet Cooper). She occasionally taught art, and her students always loved her teaching style, which emphasized freedom of line. She was a warm and loving mother, and transmitted her joy of living to her children and to all of their friends as well. She changed careers in mid-life, becoming an effective administrator and fundraiser for the Van Ost Institute, where her encouragement brightened many souls.