Columbia High School librarian Suzanne Ng passed away peacefully on May 31 after an illness. Ng will be remembered in a memorial and a celebration of life service on Sunday, June 14, from 2- 6 p.m., at Old North Church, 120 Washington Avenue in Dumont, NJ.
Plans for a remembrance service at CHS are still to be announced.
Suzanne’s husband Hai Ng posted a response to the many kind memories shared on the CHS Families Facebook page, writing, “As difficult as it was to do, it was extremely heartwarming to read the comments from the community and learn about the work that Suzanne has contributed to the community, on and off her job—thank you all for the kind words and memories you’ve shared.”
“The last few months have been hard for Suzanne not because of her illness but for the fact that she could not go to work and be with the students, colleagues, and friends—to be there and a part of the Columbia High School Family and the greater SOMSD Community,” Hai continued. “I would notice her responding to people and it was clear she was trying to help and do her job even when she was unable to leave our bed.”
“Her passing was quiet and peaceful,” he wrote, “surrounded by all the things we loved; warmed by all the things that were special to us.”
“Thank you for being there for Suzanne.”
Hai shared Suzanne’s official obituary:
Suzanne P. Ng (née Weinheimer), 55, of West Orange, NJ, formerly of Bergenfield, NJ, passed away on May 31, 2026 at her home. She was the beloved wife of Hai Ng, loving daughter of Mary (née Bouton) and the late William Weinheimer (1994), and dear sister of Laura Kibala and her husband Daniel. Though she didn’t have children of her own, she was always proud to talk about the two nephews on her side of the family; three nephews, two nieces, three grand-nieces, and two grand-nephews on the other; and the hundreds of kids whose lives she touched over her 30-years plus career with the South Orange & Maplewood School District (SOMSD).
Born in Westwood, NJ, and raised in Bergenfield, NJ, Suzanne graduated from Bergenfield High School Class of ’89. After graduating from Marywood University Class of ’94, she became a teacher and librarian at SOMSD—beginning with a position at South Mountain Elementary School & Annex, and later moving over to Columbia High School, with a brief engagement at Seth Boyden Elementary School.
When she wasn’t in school, her heart would still be with her chosen career and “her kids,” always taking the opportunity to visit rummage sales and book sales, on the lookout for lost library books she could return and books she could get for “her kids.
As a lover of all things trivia and an avid watcher of Jeopardy!—although she wasn’t picked to appear—Suzanne did meet Alex Trebec when she’qualified to try out as a contestant.
Suzanne was also a big fan of cooking shows, travelogues, and documentaries. She enjoyed dining with some of the best chefs in New Jersey’s Farm-to-Fork scene; meeting and tasting the craft of Top Chefs and celebrity chefs from all over; taking road trips across the United States and Canada, and exploring the World; visiting and experiencing—first-hand—many of the things she had seen on TV and the movies, and meeting some of the people involved.
Learning the game of mahjong from her mother-in-law on her first trip to Singapore, Suzanne brought the love of the game back to New Jersey with her and eventually joined a group of ladies for weekly games at a nearby Panera.
While she wasn’t a big videogamer, Suzanne loved a variety of word, puzzle, and casual games on her smartphone. She would join her husband in exploring the Wizarding World on Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and become expert Pokémon Trainers on Pokémon Go, attending several in-person Pokémon Go Fests and many community events.
Over the last several months, even though she was bedridden, she didn’t allow herself to be beaten. She was always in high spirits and continued to help out at Columbia High School wherever she could and stayed active in the SOMSD Community, all from bed, all the while working hard to get better so she could go back to school and see “her kids” again this Fall.
In lieu of flowers, and whenever you think of Suzanne, please consider a donation to your local library, return a lost library book you might find, or bring some much needed supplies to a food pantry, in her memory—she would be pleased to be remembered in a giving way.
