Community Corner

Former Morris County Resident Killed in Arizona Shooting

Phyllis Schneck, 79, formerly of Montville, fatally shot in alleged assassination attempt.

A former Montville resident was one of six killed in Arizona Saturday morning during a gunman's alleged assassination attempt of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords at a political event outside a grocery store in Tucson.

Phyllis Schneck, 79, who was retired and living in Tucson, was one of six fatally shot. Giffords, who remained in critical condition Sunday, was among 14 others who were wounded in the attack.

According to friends and residents, Schneck was an active member of the Montville Women’s Club, both locally and at the state level.

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“She was very dedicated to our club,” said Terry Cavanaugh, former president and current club member. “She was the one that always kept everyone on their toes. She was very passionate. To put is simply, she was a lovely lady.”

Current Club President Alberta Baker remembers Schneck as an active, dynamic member of the club who was missed when she sold her home on Roome Road in the Towaco section of Montville.

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"She was not only active, but she encouraged other women to get involved in charitable works," she said. "We missed her very much when she moved."

Schneck, a Rutherford native whose husband died in 2007, is survived by her three children, seven grandchildren and one great-grandchild, according to the Associated Press. 

Giffords, a Democratic U.S. representative from Arizona, is the wife of , who grew up in West Orange and whose parents were both members of the West Orange Police Department.

Giffords was meeting with constituents for the first "Congress on Your Corner," when she was shot, according to her website. 

Federal prosecutors brought charges Sunday against the accused gunman, Jared Loughner, 22, according to the AP.


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