‘True Hero’ To Montclair Animals Passes Away: Carolyn Burdge

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Carolyn Burdge adored animals, and every ounce of her being showed it. And like the U.S. Post Office slogan, neither rain, snow, sleet nor hail could keep one of Montclair’s most stalwart activists from her appointed rounds.

Burdge, a Neptune native, passed away on Sept. 18 at the age of 73. Family and friends held a memorial service on Oct. 26 at the First Montclair House.

According to her obituary, Burdge was a longstanding animal activist who worked closely with the Montclair animal shelter and other various rescues to feed and rehome Montclair's local cats and dogs.

In lieu of flowers, her family asks that donations be made to the Montclair Animal Shelter, PAWS, the Purple Heart and Vietnam Veterans of America.

On Saturday, Montclair Animal Shelter Director Liz Morgan offered a touching statement about what Burdge meant to the local community:

“This is such a loss to the Montclair Township Animal Community. This woman was a true rescuer and hero to homeless animals. I can tell you this woman adored animals and every ounce of her being showed it. I watched Carol walk from one end of town to the other on a daily basis to feed homeless animals. Please know, rain, snow sleet nor hail would keep her away from what she consider her responsibility. Carol was out there caring for these animals. She was humble, unassuming, intelligent and was able to work with many shelter and rescue partners for her desired out come. That any homeless animal would be safe, fed,and warm. We worked together over the years to accrue winter shelters for feral cats and to do a yearly food drive. We will honor her today and continue to raise funds and extend our ‘feed the feral’ campaign this winter. To donate in Carol's memory please go to Fomtasnj.org. Godspeed my friend.”

The staff at Montclair-based Cameron Animal Hospital concurred about Burdge’s importance to the community.

“We second that,” the hospital stated. “A longtime client, we have had the honor of knowing Ms. Burdge for many years. Her dedication to her animals- both owned and stray- was humbling to see. Her death is a loss to both the animals and people of Montclair.”

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