Obituary of Dorothy Voorman-Fish

Dorothy Voorman-Fish, age 75, a registered professional nurse and Wyckoff resident known professionally as a nurse executive, critical-care clinical specialist, and educator in New York and New Jersey entered into eternal rest on Tuesday, July 4, 2017 following an extended illness.

Dorothy was Vice President of the first graduating class of Midland Park High School, and was also a graduate of St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center School of Nursing and William Paterson College of New Jersey. She was elected to Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She held positions at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center; Newark Beth Israel Medical Center; The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey; Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY; Overlook Medical Center and most recently served as Senior Vice-President of Pascack Valley Hospital in Westwood, NJ.

Dorothy served as co-editor of a textbook which was named “Book of the Year” by the American Journal of Nursing and published numerous clinical publications. She served as editor of Heart and Lung: The Journal of Critical Care.

She served the community of Wyckoff, NJ for 35 years on the Board of Health and was the President of the board for many years. She is Past-President of the West Bergen Mental Healthcare of Ridgewood and was chair of the Bergen County Mental Health Board. Dorothy served as national President of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses, the largest specialty nursing organization in the world.  She was appointed by President Gerald R. Ford to a special commission to create the Emergency Medical Systems we now know as E.M.S.

A member of the Wyckoff Reformed Church, she served as an Elder for eight years chairing the worship committee. She is a founder of the Wyckoff Township Meals on Wheels and continued to serve on the Board of Directors.

Among the numerous awards she has received are Honorary Life Membership in the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the Northern New Jersey chapter, and The Courage Award presented by the Care Plus Foundation for her contributions to mental health care.

She was predeceased by her parents Garret and Henrietta Nagelhout. Surviving are her husband, Marvin S. Fish, Esq, and her daughter Honoré Garrin Kotler and her husband Kirby Kotler and their children Ava Jeanne and Kirra Ray of Malibu, California. Also, her sisters Janet Nagelhout of Midland Park and Marcia Coningswood  of Oakland; her niece Tara Pirozzi of Longwood, Florida and nephew Douglas  Coningswood of Warwick, New York.

A worship service celebrating her life will be held at the Wyckoff Reformed Church, 591 Wyckoff Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ, on Saturday, July 8, 2017 at 11:00am. Interment in the Wyckoff Reformed Church cemetery will follow the service.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Dorothy’s name may be made to the Wyckoff Volunteer Ambulance Corps, PO Box 214, Wyckoff, NJ 07481 OR Protection Fire Co #1, Wyckoff Fire Department, PO Box 232, Wyckoff, NJ  07481.  Arrangements by the Vander Plaat Funeral Home of Wyckoff, www.vpfh.com.