Monica Getz

May 19, 1934 – January 5, 2025.  It is with great sadness that we announce that our Founder and President Monica Getz passed away peacefully on January 5th in Irvington, NY.  She was 90 years old and succumbed to bile duct cancer.

Monica was active in many charitable causes, but she was most passionate about her work founding and leading the National Coalition for Family Justice.  She pursued our mission tirelessly for over 35 years, giving of her time, opening her home, hosting seminars, meetings, escorting members to court and helping to improve a system which had let her down so badly.  Monica also worked diligently to educate the Judiciary on the subjects of addictions and abuse which are often so mishandled by the Court System.

Monica was born into Swedish aristocracy. She is the granddaughter of Count Eric Von Rosen on her mother’s side, and on her father’s side Nils Silfverskiold, also a royal Swedish family.  She met, Stan Getz a Jazz Hall of Famer, while she was a sophomore at Georgetown University in Washington DC when she was only 20 years old when he and Count Basie were giving a concert on the campus.  Two years later they married in 1956. Actress Donna Reed was her maid of honor.

Monica became a full-time mother, to Stan's 3 children from his previous marriage - Steven 7, David 4, and Beverly only a 1-year-old.  The couple subsequently had two children together, Pam and Nicholas.

The couple divorced amid in the late 1980s.  Monica's experiences in that process led to her passion to improve the system for others dealing with the court system.

Monica spoke 8 languages fluently and once graced the cover of Elle magazine.  But to those who knew her, the quality that stood out the most was her intelligence and her willingness to help people, particularly those who are having difficulty in their lives.  Late in life, she chose to attend Rutgers University and became a respected speaker on the subject of alcoholism and addictions and has spoken at the Betty Ford clinic in Palm Springs, California, as well as the Hazelden Institute in Center City, Minnesota.

Monica is survived by her children, Nicolaus and Pamela; her stepson, David; her stepdaughters, Beverly and Sharon Hamilton-Getz, the widow of her late stepson Steven; and her grandchildren, Christopher Getz, Katie Getz, Daniel Getz, Jennifer Getz, Amanda Raynor and Isabella Raynor.