Nina Ignatowicz

Nina Ignatowicz of Rutherford, NJ passed away at home on January 19, 2013 after a brief illness. She was pre-deceased by her husband Alexander in 2009. Nina is survived by her brother in law, Nicholas, and his wife Beverly of Freehold, NJ and her nieces Natalie Zarechnak , her husband Alex and son Makari of Boston, MA and Anne Tyska and her husband Christopher of Philadelphia, PA. Nina was born in Lvov, present-day Ukraine, and lived in Sydney, Australia before coming to the United States. Her father, Boris Harkovenko, was a well-known architect. Nina spoke English, Russian, German and French. Nina had a very successful career as an editor of children's books. She worked for Harper and Row for 30 years and edited books for some of the most prominent authors and illustrators in children's publishing. In 1991 Nina moved to Clarion Books and then to Henry Holt in 1999, as executive editor. She retired in 2007. Tributes to Nina have been published on Facebook and in Publisher's Weekly by many of the authors that she represented. She is remembered as inspirational, passionate, supportive, and an excellent judge of talent. Nina was a member of Our Lady of Kazan Russian Orthodox Church in Newark, NJ and was a member of the Congress of Russian Americans. Nina's funeral service and burial were held at the Novo-Diveyevo Convent in Nanuet, NY on January 22. In memory of Nina, donations may be made to Our Lady of Kazan Church, 78 Heller Pkwy., Newark, NJ 07104 or to a charity of your choice.