Lizette Parker is believed to be the first black female mayor in Bergen County. Watch video
HACKENSACK -- Among other things, Teaneck mayor Lizette Parker loved God, her family, and helping Teaneck's children through the youth advisory board. She also loved to talk about her favorite TV shows with her best friend.
She, in turn, was beloved by many, who saw her as a sister, role model, and trailblazer, since she was believed to be the first black female mayor in Bergen County's history.
Though tears were shed over Parker's untimely death, her funeral, held Saturday morning at her Hackensack church Mount Olive Baptist Church, was more a celebration of her life than a mourning of her passing.
The Teaneck native, who was elected mayor in 2014, was just 44 when she passed away on Sunday of respiratory troubles at Holy Name Hospital in Teaneck -- shocking the community and leaving behind a young daughter and her husband of 17 years.
Lizette Parker, groundbreaking mayor of Teaneck, dies at 44
Deputy Mayor Elie Y. Katz was Parker's replacement effective immediately.
During a more than two-hour ceremony in the packed church on Saturday, she was honored for her community work in written proclamations, read by Office of Administrative Law Judge Sandra Ann Robinson, that were sent in by many politicians and organizations.
Teaneck named April 30, 2016 "Mayor Lizette Parker Day," the Bergen NAACP created the "Lizette Parker Trailblazer Award," and the Urban League of Bergen County created a scholarship for her daughter Alyssa, who she called her "Little Ladybug."
Parker, who was born in Harlem, was also remembered by her close friend and daughter's godmother, Balenda Nelson, for their "gossip" sessions, when they would talk about about their favorite TV shows like "Scandal" as adults. When they were young, they gabbed about "Luke and Laura's wedding," she said.
Parker was "so in love with" her now-husband Tony, so when Nelson saw her crying before her wedding, she assumed she was a bride overcome with emotion. "She said 'Oh no, Frank Sinatra died last night!'" Nelson recalled, as the room erupted in laughs.
The former mayor of Teaneck, Mohammed Hameeduddin, presented Parker's family with a flag flown over the U.S. Capitol and said that "there's a hole in our town."
"We didn't deserve her, we needed her," he said. Both he and Township Manager William Broughton commended Parker's sincerity and trustworthiness.
"She just knew that (the most important things were) God, faith, family and people," said Broughton, who called Parker "his guardian angel." "Lizette was there for me when I needed her. She walked the sometimes treacherous path of public service with me."
During a rousing eulogy comparing Parker to the Bible's Esther, the Jewish queen of Persia who he emphasized also was a "minority," Rev. Gregory Jackson cautioned against people getting too caught up in the fact that Parker was "first." He said that people should remember that she was helped by social institutions, including the Equal Opportunity Fund.
"God can break through doors! Can I have a witness?" he said. "The first is over. We ready for number two, three, four, five!"
Later, Jackson told NJ Advance Media that "It's 2016. We should be long past first... We want people to have opportunities regardless of what they are, what racial background, and fulfill their destiny."
According to her obituary, Parker served on the council since 2006 and worked at the county Board of Social Services since 1992; she currently worked there as social work administrator.
When she was elected mayor, she said in her speech that "my [toddler] daughter Alyssa, who does not realize what is happening this evening, she will grow up and know she can be anything she wants, even Teaneck mayor and things beyond."
Parker's proudest accomplishment as mayor was the re-creation of the Youth Advisory Board, officials said.
She was also a member of many organizations, including Bergen County Mocha Moms and the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, and sang with the Mount Olive Baptist Church's Women of Worship choir, they said.
"She's done so much for her community. We love her. She was dedicated," said Deirdre Traylor-Gamby, a Teaneck resident who came to the funeral. "It was just a privilege to even be here to see her put to rest."
Laura Herzog may be reached at lherzog@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LauraHerzogL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.