NEW YORK, March 9 -- Robert A. (Bob) Lusko, a friendly and
colorful marketing and sales executive who retired from the Ford Motor Company
just two months ago, died yesterday at a hospital here following surgery for a
sinus ailment. He was 62 years old and lived in Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Lusko had spent 40 years with Ford, the last 17 heading Ford Division's sales
operations in the New York region. More than 400 people, including top
company executives and most of the Ford dealers in the Northeast, attended his
retirement party on January 7.
One of the last of a breed of flamboyant promotion-minded automobile sales
executives, Lusko was famous for a series of lavish product introductions in
the New York area. But he was perhaps best known for his practice of pinning
a "Ford, Big Apple No. 1" pin on hundreds of unsuspecting politicians,
celebrities and dignitaries including President and Mrs. Clinton, Cardinal
John O'Connor and Pope John Paul II. In fact, his annual budget included a
line item for thousands of Big Apple pins.
At his retirement party, Lusko recalled applying for a job at Ford Motor
Company -- at the age of 16 -- at the auto company's legendary Rouge Complex.
That summer he landed a job as a tour guide where he escorted Nikita
Khrushchev and Henry Ford II through the massive automotive complex. He took
his first year-round job with Ford in 1960 as a statistical clerk and held a
number of positions at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, MI, before
moving to Cleveland as a general field manager.
Lusko was first assigned to New York in 1973 and later worked in
Washington, D.C. He was named New York District Sales Manager in 1983 and New
York Regional Sales Manager in 1991. In the history of the company few had
longer tenures as sales managers. When he took over as New York District
Sales Manager the Ford dealer body was last among competitors in
profitability, Lusko recalled. Today, they are 250 strong, selling more cars
and trucks than any of their competitors (175,000 annually), and just turned
in record profits for the year.
During his tenure, Lusko and his team appointed more than 100 dealers and
worked with more than 70 to construct new facilities that employed thousands
of additional people throughout New York State and adjoining sections of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Lusko also directed a staff of more
than 40 Ford employees.
Ford Division, led by Lusko, was one of the pioneers of the rejuvenation
of New York's 42nd Street through the restoration of the Ford Center for the
Performing Arts. He held center stage during the black-tie opening of
"Ragtime" two years ago. Lusko also was equally proud of his role in helping
found The American Stage Company, a regional theater company in Teaneck, N.J.
"For affordable prices, people can see Broadway-level performances, and we
have taken 12 plays right to Broadway," he said.
Lusko displayed a theatrical flare whenever he launched Ford cars and
trucks in New York. He once unveiled a car on the deck of the USS Intrepid,
helping direct the motoring press as they test-drove Ford's new midsize car,
the Tempo, on the deck of the aircraft carrier. When it was over, 200 Ford
Tempos paraded down the West Side Highway.
His associates also recall the 1990 introduction of the Ford Probe at high
noon outside the World Trade Center. The 65,000 Wall Street workers who
showed up for a chance to win the sporty little coupe comprised a record
outdoor audience, according to the Legends of Lusko. "There were six acres of
people, pressed person to person," he recalled with a chuckle.
Perhaps most spectacular of his more than 20 product launches was the 1996
introduction of the redesigned Ford Taurus inside Radio City Music Hall.
Aretha Franklin serenaded the car as it rose onto the stage from below ground
accompanied by an indoor fireworks display. The audience of 6,000 included
2,000 couples that owned prior-model Tauruses. When the party was over, the
parade of Tauruses shut down Sixth Avenue. Eventually, Aretha Franklin took
the fireworks team on tour with her.
Lusko and the Ford Division team scored another first when the organizers
of the St. Patrick's Day Parade agreed to include cars for the first time.
And so, 150 emerald-green Windstar minivans led the parade, winding past the
crowd of 2 million. Ford Division has been a major sponsor ever since, and
Lusko had been scheduled to ride in next week's parade.
"Every one of these launches -- the ideas, the execution -- is handled by
our office; we never hire anyone," Lusko said as he explained his
team-building management philosophy. "For the parade, we had to be there from
1 a.m. to 6 a.m. to set up. I'd ask for volunteers and everyone raised their
hands. From launch onward, that kind of teamwork carries forward. The
management 'chimneys' come down and we have a common goal. You have to have
the courage of your convictions and know that your team will accomplish it
all."
On his retirement, dealers in the region mentioned Lusko's leadership
abilities repeatedly. "He is able to motivate all dealers, of all different
sizes, toward the same goal -- and make us believe we can reach it," said Ron
Rosen, general manager and partner in the region's biggest Ford dealership,
Oasis Ford, in Old Bridge, NJ.
Irving Rosen, his father and partner, adds: "Bob Lusko understands what
it means to have to make the payroll on Friday. He never loses perspective,
he knows he's working for Ford Motor Company, but his knowledge and
understanding of both sides is what makes him so respected and loved by the
dealers."
Marvin Suskin, of Scarsdale Ford, Scarsdale, N.Y., says Lusko put him into
business 25 years ago. He agrees with the Rosens: "He knows the dealers by
name, he knows their families, and he watches out for them."
Suskin added another perspective: "Bob is one of the most brilliant
marketing people I have met. He has an intuition about future markets. He
recognizes good and bad business practices. And he has no prejudices --
everyone is equal."
The diversity of the New York market was indeed one of the biggest
challenges of the job, Lusko said. Other regions frequently have a single
defining trait that marketers can aim for. Not so the metropolis of fashion,
finance, immigrants, working families and professionals in thousands of
differing fields. "That's why New York fits me like a glove," he said.
He was born in New Boston, MI, and graduated from the University of Michigan
with a B.S. in business administration and speech. He formerly was a first
lieutenant in the Michigan Air National Guard, was a member of the Indian
Trail Club, Franklin Lakes, and treasurer of the Ancient Order of the
Hibernia.
He is survived by three children -- a son, Robert A. Lusko Jr., New York City; two daughters, Jennifer
Lusko, Forest Hills, N.Y., and Deanna Lusko, Annapolis, MD; two brothers and two sisters, all of Michigan.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Church of the
Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Visitors may call between 1:30 to
5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home
in Wyckoff, NJ. The family requests contributions to the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas 75265-0309, or the American
Stage Company, P.O. Box 336, Teaneck, NJ 07666.
colorful marketing and sales executive who retired from the Ford Motor Company
just two months ago, died yesterday at a hospital here following surgery for a
sinus ailment. He was 62 years old and lived in Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Lusko had spent 40 years with Ford, the last 17 heading Ford Division's sales
operations in the New York region. More than 400 people, including top
company executives and most of the Ford dealers in the Northeast, attended his
retirement party on January 7.
One of the last of a breed of flamboyant promotion-minded automobile sales
executives, Lusko was famous for a series of lavish product introductions in
the New York area. But he was perhaps best known for his practice of pinning
a "Ford, Big Apple No. 1" pin on hundreds of unsuspecting politicians,
celebrities and dignitaries including President and Mrs. Clinton, Cardinal
John O'Connor and Pope John Paul II. In fact, his annual budget included a
line item for thousands of Big Apple pins.
At his retirement party, Lusko recalled applying for a job at Ford Motor
Company -- at the age of 16 -- at the auto company's legendary Rouge Complex.
That summer he landed a job as a tour guide where he escorted Nikita
Khrushchev and Henry Ford II through the massive automotive complex. He took
his first year-round job with Ford in 1960 as a statistical clerk and held a
number of positions at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, MI, before
moving to Cleveland as a general field manager.
Lusko was first assigned to New York in 1973 and later worked in
Washington, D.C. He was named New York District Sales Manager in 1983 and New
York Regional Sales Manager in 1991. In the history of the company few had
longer tenures as sales managers. When he took over as New York District
Sales Manager the Ford dealer body was last among competitors in
profitability, Lusko recalled. Today, they are 250 strong, selling more cars
and trucks than any of their competitors (175,000 annually), and just turned
in record profits for the year.
During his tenure, Lusko and his team appointed more than 100 dealers and
worked with more than 70 to construct new facilities that employed thousands
of additional people throughout New York State and adjoining sections of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Lusko also directed a staff of more
than 40 Ford employees.
Ford Division, led by Lusko, was one of the pioneers of the rejuvenation
of New York's 42nd Street through the restoration of the Ford Center for the
Performing Arts. He held center stage during the black-tie opening of
"Ragtime" two years ago. Lusko also was equally proud of his role in helping
found The American Stage Company, a regional theater company in Teaneck, N.J.
"For affordable prices, people can see Broadway-level performances, and we
have taken 12 plays right to Broadway," he said.
Lusko displayed a theatrical flare whenever he launched Ford cars and
trucks in New York. He once unveiled a car on the deck of the USS Intrepid,
helping direct the motoring press as they test-drove Ford's new midsize car,
the Tempo, on the deck of the aircraft carrier. When it was over, 200 Ford
Tempos paraded down the West Side Highway.
His associates also recall the 1990 introduction of the Ford Probe at high
noon outside the World Trade Center. The 65,000 Wall Street workers who
showed up for a chance to win the sporty little coupe comprised a record
outdoor audience, according to the Legends of Lusko. "There were six acres of
people, pressed person to person," he recalled with a chuckle.
Perhaps most spectacular of his more than 20 product launches was the 1996
introduction of the redesigned Ford Taurus inside Radio City Music Hall.
Aretha Franklin serenaded the car as it rose onto the stage from below ground
accompanied by an indoor fireworks display. The audience of 6,000 included
2,000 couples that owned prior-model Tauruses. When the party was over, the
parade of Tauruses shut down Sixth Avenue. Eventually, Aretha Franklin took
the fireworks team on tour with her.
Lusko and the Ford Division team scored another first when the organizers
of the St. Patrick's Day Parade agreed to include cars for the first time.
And so, 150 emerald-green Windstar minivans led the parade, winding past the
crowd of 2 million. Ford Division has been a major sponsor ever since, and
Lusko had been scheduled to ride in next week's parade.
"Every one of these launches -- the ideas, the execution -- is handled by
our office; we never hire anyone," Lusko said as he explained his
team-building management philosophy. "For the parade, we had to be there from
1 a.m. to 6 a.m. to set up. I'd ask for volunteers and everyone raised their
hands. From launch onward, that kind of teamwork carries forward. The
management 'chimneys' come down and we have a common goal. You have to have
the courage of your convictions and know that your team will accomplish it
all."
On his retirement, dealers in the region mentioned Lusko's leadership
abilities repeatedly. "He is able to motivate all dealers, of all different
sizes, toward the same goal -- and make us believe we can reach it," said Ron
Rosen, general manager and partner in the region's biggest Ford dealership,
Oasis Ford, in Old Bridge, NJ.
Irving Rosen, his father and partner, adds: "Bob Lusko understands what
it means to have to make the payroll on Friday. He never loses perspective,
he knows he's working for Ford Motor Company, but his knowledge and
understanding of both sides is what makes him so respected and loved by the
dealers."
Marvin Suskin, of Scarsdale Ford, Scarsdale, N.Y., says Lusko put him into
business 25 years ago. He agrees with the Rosens: "He knows the dealers by
name, he knows their families, and he watches out for them."
Suskin added another perspective: "Bob is one of the most brilliant
marketing people I have met. He has an intuition about future markets. He
recognizes good and bad business practices. And he has no prejudices --
everyone is equal."
The diversity of the New York market was indeed one of the biggest
challenges of the job, Lusko said. Other regions frequently have a single
defining trait that marketers can aim for. Not so the metropolis of fashion,
finance, immigrants, working families and professionals in thousands of
differing fields. "That's why New York fits me like a glove," he said.
He was born in New Boston, MI, and graduated from the University of Michigan
with a B.S. in business administration and speech. He formerly was a first
lieutenant in the Michigan Air National Guard, was a member of the Indian
Trail Club, Franklin Lakes, and treasurer of the Ancient Order of the
Hibernia.
He is survived by three children -- a son, Robert A. Lusko Jr., New York City; two daughters, Jennifer
Lusko, Forest Hills, N.Y., and Deanna Lusko, Annapolis, MD; two brothers and two sisters, all of Michigan.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Church of the
Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Visitors may call between 1:30 to
5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home
in Wyckoff, NJ. The family requests contributions to the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas 75265-0309, or the American
Stage Company, P.O. Box 336, Teaneck, NJ 07666.
NEW YORK, March 9 -- Robert A. (Bob) Lusko, a friendly and
colorful marketing and sales executive who retired from the Ford Motor Company
just two months ago, died yesterday at a hospital here following surgery for a
sinus ailment. He was 62 years old and lived in Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Lusko had spent 40 years with Ford, the last 17 heading Ford Division's sales
operations in the New York region. More than 400 people, including top
company executives and most of the Ford dealers in the Northeast, attended his
retirement party on January 7.
One of the last of a breed of flamboyant promotion-minded automobile sales
executives, Lusko was famous for a series of lavish product introductions in
the New York area. But he was perhaps best known for his practice of pinning
a "Ford, Big Apple No. 1" pin on hundreds of unsuspecting politicians,
celebrities and dignitaries including President and Mrs. Clinton, Cardinal
John O'Connor and Pope John Paul II. In fact, his annual budget included a
line item for thousands of Big Apple pins.
At his retirement party, Lusko recalled applying for a job at Ford Motor
Company -- at the age of 16 -- at the auto company's legendary Rouge Complex.
That summer he landed a job as a tour guide where he escorted Nikita
Khrushchev and Henry Ford II through the massive automotive complex. He took
his first year-round job with Ford in 1960 as a statistical clerk and held a
number of positions at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, MI, before
moving to Cleveland as a general field manager.
Lusko was first assigned to New York in 1973 and later worked in
Washington, D.C. He was named New York District Sales Manager in 1983 and New
York Regional Sales Manager in 1991. In the history of the company few had
longer tenures as sales managers. When he took over as New York District
Sales Manager the Ford dealer body was last among competitors in
profitability, Lusko recalled. Today, they are 250 strong, selling more cars
and trucks than any of their competitors (175,000 annually), and just turned
in record profits for the year.
During his tenure, Lusko and his team appointed more than 100 dealers and
worked with more than 70 to construct new facilities that employed thousands
of additional people throughout New York State and adjoining sections of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Lusko also directed a staff of more
than 40 Ford employees.
Ford Division, led by Lusko, was one of the pioneers of the rejuvenation
of New York's 42nd Street through the restoration of the Ford Center for the
Performing Arts. He held center stage during the black-tie opening of
"Ragtime" two years ago. Lusko also was equally proud of his role in helping
found The American Stage Company, a regional theater company in Teaneck, N.J.
"For affordable prices, people can see Broadway-level performances, and we
have taken 12 plays right to Broadway," he said.
Lusko displayed a theatrical flare whenever he launched Ford cars and
trucks in New York. He once unveiled a car on the deck of the USS Intrepid,
helping direct the motoring press as they test-drove Ford's new midsize car,
the Tempo, on the deck of the aircraft carrier. When it was over, 200 Ford
Tempos paraded down the West Side Highway.
His associates also recall the 1990 introduction of the Ford Probe at high
noon outside the World Trade Center. The 65,000 Wall Street workers who
showed up for a chance to win the sporty little coupe comprised a record
outdoor audience, according to the Legends of Lusko. "There were six acres of
people, pressed person to person," he recalled with a chuckle.
Perhaps most spectacular of his more than 20 product launches was the 1996
introduction of the redesigned Ford Taurus inside Radio City Music Hall.
Aretha Franklin serenaded the car as it rose onto the stage from below ground
accompanied by an indoor fireworks display. The audience of 6,000 included
2,000 couples that owned prior-model Tauruses. When the party was over, the
parade of Tauruses shut down Sixth Avenue. Eventually, Aretha Franklin took
the fireworks team on tour with her.
Lusko and the Ford Division team scored another first when the organizers
of the St. Patrick's Day Parade agreed to include cars for the first time.
And so, 150 emerald-green Windstar minivans led the parade, winding past the
crowd of 2 million. Ford Division has been a major sponsor ever since, and
Lusko had been scheduled to ride in next week's parade.
"Every one of these launches -- the ideas, the execution -- is handled by
our office; we never hire anyone," Lusko said as he explained his
team-building management philosophy. "For the parade, we had to be there from
1 a.m. to 6 a.m. to set up. I'd ask for volunteers and everyone raised their
hands. From launch onward, that kind of teamwork carries forward. The
management 'chimneys' come down and we have a common goal. You have to have
the courage of your convictions and know that your team will accomplish it
all."
On his retirement, dealers in the region mentioned Lusko's leadership
abilities repeatedly. "He is able to motivate all dealers, of all different
sizes, toward the same goal -- and make us believe we can reach it," said Ron
Rosen, general manager and partner in the region's biggest Ford dealership,
Oasis Ford, in Old Bridge, NJ.
Irving Rosen, his father and partner, adds: "Bob Lusko understands what
it means to have to make the payroll on Friday. He never loses perspective,
he knows he's working for Ford Motor Company, but his knowledge and
understanding of both sides is what makes him so respected and loved by the
dealers."
Marvin Suskin, of Scarsdale Ford, Scarsdale, N.Y., says Lusko put him into
business 25 years ago. He agrees with the Rosens: "He knows the dealers by
name, he knows their families, and he watches out for them."
Suskin added another perspective: "Bob is one of the most brilliant
marketing people I have met. He has an intuition about future markets. He
recognizes good and bad business practices. And he has no prejudices --
everyone is equal."
The diversity of the New York market was indeed one of the biggest
challenges of the job, Lusko said. Other regions frequently have a single
defining trait that marketers can aim for. Not so the metropolis of fashion,
finance, immigrants, working families and professionals in thousands of
differing fields. "That's why New York fits me like a glove," he said.
He was born in New Boston, MI, and graduated from the University of Michigan
with a B.S. in business administration and speech. He formerly was a first
lieutenant in the Michigan Air National Guard, was a member of the Indian
Trail Club, Franklin Lakes, and treasurer of the Ancient Order of the
Hibernia.
He is survived by three children -- a son, Robert A. Lusko Jr., New York City; two daughters, Jennifer
Lusko, Forest Hills, N.Y., and Deanna Lusko, Annapolis, MD; two brothers and two sisters, all of Michigan.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Church of the
Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Visitors may call between 1:30 to
5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home
in Wyckoff, NJ. The family requests contributions to the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas 75265-0309, or the American
Stage Company, P.O. Box 336, Teaneck, NJ 07666.
colorful marketing and sales executive who retired from the Ford Motor Company
just two months ago, died yesterday at a hospital here following surgery for a
sinus ailment. He was 62 years old and lived in Franklin Lakes, NJ.
Lusko had spent 40 years with Ford, the last 17 heading Ford Division's sales
operations in the New York region. More than 400 people, including top
company executives and most of the Ford dealers in the Northeast, attended his
retirement party on January 7.
One of the last of a breed of flamboyant promotion-minded automobile sales
executives, Lusko was famous for a series of lavish product introductions in
the New York area. But he was perhaps best known for his practice of pinning
a "Ford, Big Apple No. 1" pin on hundreds of unsuspecting politicians,
celebrities and dignitaries including President and Mrs. Clinton, Cardinal
John O'Connor and Pope John Paul II. In fact, his annual budget included a
line item for thousands of Big Apple pins.
At his retirement party, Lusko recalled applying for a job at Ford Motor
Company -- at the age of 16 -- at the auto company's legendary Rouge Complex.
That summer he landed a job as a tour guide where he escorted Nikita
Khrushchev and Henry Ford II through the massive automotive complex. He took
his first year-round job with Ford in 1960 as a statistical clerk and held a
number of positions at the company's headquarters in Dearborn, MI, before
moving to Cleveland as a general field manager.
Lusko was first assigned to New York in 1973 and later worked in
Washington, D.C. He was named New York District Sales Manager in 1983 and New
York Regional Sales Manager in 1991. In the history of the company few had
longer tenures as sales managers. When he took over as New York District
Sales Manager the Ford dealer body was last among competitors in
profitability, Lusko recalled. Today, they are 250 strong, selling more cars
and trucks than any of their competitors (175,000 annually), and just turned
in record profits for the year.
During his tenure, Lusko and his team appointed more than 100 dealers and
worked with more than 70 to construct new facilities that employed thousands
of additional people throughout New York State and adjoining sections of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania and Connecticut. Lusko also directed a staff of more
than 40 Ford employees.
Ford Division, led by Lusko, was one of the pioneers of the rejuvenation
of New York's 42nd Street through the restoration of the Ford Center for the
Performing Arts. He held center stage during the black-tie opening of
"Ragtime" two years ago. Lusko also was equally proud of his role in helping
found The American Stage Company, a regional theater company in Teaneck, N.J.
"For affordable prices, people can see Broadway-level performances, and we
have taken 12 plays right to Broadway," he said.
Lusko displayed a theatrical flare whenever he launched Ford cars and
trucks in New York. He once unveiled a car on the deck of the USS Intrepid,
helping direct the motoring press as they test-drove Ford's new midsize car,
the Tempo, on the deck of the aircraft carrier. When it was over, 200 Ford
Tempos paraded down the West Side Highway.
His associates also recall the 1990 introduction of the Ford Probe at high
noon outside the World Trade Center. The 65,000 Wall Street workers who
showed up for a chance to win the sporty little coupe comprised a record
outdoor audience, according to the Legends of Lusko. "There were six acres of
people, pressed person to person," he recalled with a chuckle.
Perhaps most spectacular of his more than 20 product launches was the 1996
introduction of the redesigned Ford Taurus inside Radio City Music Hall.
Aretha Franklin serenaded the car as it rose onto the stage from below ground
accompanied by an indoor fireworks display. The audience of 6,000 included
2,000 couples that owned prior-model Tauruses. When the party was over, the
parade of Tauruses shut down Sixth Avenue. Eventually, Aretha Franklin took
the fireworks team on tour with her.
Lusko and the Ford Division team scored another first when the organizers
of the St. Patrick's Day Parade agreed to include cars for the first time.
And so, 150 emerald-green Windstar minivans led the parade, winding past the
crowd of 2 million. Ford Division has been a major sponsor ever since, and
Lusko had been scheduled to ride in next week's parade.
"Every one of these launches -- the ideas, the execution -- is handled by
our office; we never hire anyone," Lusko said as he explained his
team-building management philosophy. "For the parade, we had to be there from
1 a.m. to 6 a.m. to set up. I'd ask for volunteers and everyone raised their
hands. From launch onward, that kind of teamwork carries forward. The
management 'chimneys' come down and we have a common goal. You have to have
the courage of your convictions and know that your team will accomplish it
all."
On his retirement, dealers in the region mentioned Lusko's leadership
abilities repeatedly. "He is able to motivate all dealers, of all different
sizes, toward the same goal -- and make us believe we can reach it," said Ron
Rosen, general manager and partner in the region's biggest Ford dealership,
Oasis Ford, in Old Bridge, NJ.
Irving Rosen, his father and partner, adds: "Bob Lusko understands what
it means to have to make the payroll on Friday. He never loses perspective,
he knows he's working for Ford Motor Company, but his knowledge and
understanding of both sides is what makes him so respected and loved by the
dealers."
Marvin Suskin, of Scarsdale Ford, Scarsdale, N.Y., says Lusko put him into
business 25 years ago. He agrees with the Rosens: "He knows the dealers by
name, he knows their families, and he watches out for them."
Suskin added another perspective: "Bob is one of the most brilliant
marketing people I have met. He has an intuition about future markets. He
recognizes good and bad business practices. And he has no prejudices --
everyone is equal."
The diversity of the New York market was indeed one of the biggest
challenges of the job, Lusko said. Other regions frequently have a single
defining trait that marketers can aim for. Not so the metropolis of fashion,
finance, immigrants, working families and professionals in thousands of
differing fields. "That's why New York fits me like a glove," he said.
He was born in New Boston, MI, and graduated from the University of Michigan
with a B.S. in business administration and speech. He formerly was a first
lieutenant in the Michigan Air National Guard, was a member of the Indian
Trail Club, Franklin Lakes, and treasurer of the Ancient Order of the
Hibernia.
He is survived by three children -- a son, Robert A. Lusko Jr., New York City; two daughters, Jennifer
Lusko, Forest Hills, N.Y., and Deanna Lusko, Annapolis, MD; two brothers and two sisters, all of Michigan.
A funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Church of the
Presentation in Upper Saddle River, NJ. Visitors may call between 1:30 to
5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at the Vander Plaat Funeral Home
in Wyckoff, NJ. The family requests contributions to the Susan G. Komen
Breast Cancer Foundation, P.O. Box 650309, Dallas 75265-0309, or the American
Stage Company, P.O. Box 336, Teaneck, NJ 07666.
Family Members
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