Lynette Carissa Manai (née Ditz) died unexpectedly and tragically in Queens, NY at the age of 57.
Lynette is survived by husband, Nabil, of Queens, NY; her mother, Judith Ditz, of Paoli, PA; brother, Jeffrey Ditz (Lorrie), of West Chester, PA; and sister, Melissa Proctor (Jon), of Raleigh, NC. She is also survived by her sisters-in-law Latifah and Dominique; brother-in-law Mohammed; nieces Samantha, Rachel, and Sera; nephews Jeffrey Jr., Evan, Edam, and Anis; stepmother Cheryll; aunts Anita and Jill (Chuck); uncle Ray (Cheryl); cousins Heather, Heidi, Todd, Meredith and Mark and a devoted village of close friends spread across the world.
Lynette was born on December 24, 1961 in Philadelphia, PA to Judith and Ronald Ditz. She graduated from Great Valley High School (Malvern, PA) in 1979 and Principia College (Elsah, IL) with honors in 1984. After moving to New York, she began working for Van Norstrum Rhinehold, then Miramax, and finally found her place with her mentor Derrick Cephas. She was his executive assistant at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and friend for 19 years. They previously worked together at Amalgamated Bank and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP.
Lynette was accomplished at so many things including poetry, cooking, dancing, music appreciation, and generosity. She lived life to the fullest. She loved to travel and see the world; Lynette met Nabil, her husband and soulmate, on one of her many trips abroad. They married in 2007 in Paris, France. She recently visited Iceland to see the Northern Lights; Tunisia; and Nîmes, France, which is where she expressed a desire to retire with Nabil. She spoke French enthusiastically whenever possible and always at home. When she was younger, she quickly ran the NYC (3:27) and Boston marathons. She was never without a New York Times crossword or acrostic; she completed them in ink. Lynette was a private person and shunned social media, preferring to speak with people in person. She never met a stranger and made friends wherever she went, promoted inclusion, and loved everyone.
A celebration of her life was held on Sunday, January 6th and she was buried on Monday, January 7 at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Farmingdale, Long Island, NY.
We think Lynette would strongly support donations to the
Southern Poverty Law Center at 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL 36104;
Muslim Community Network NY at 239 Thompson Street, New York, NY, 10012; or
Inside Broadway at 630 Ninth Avenue, Suite 802, New York, NY 10036. Or High Oaks, Inc.
1489 Baltimore Pike, Suite 234, Springfield PA 19064To contact the family or to share photos, please leave a note on this site or email
rememberinglynette@gmail.com or address is 702 Weatherstone Dr, Paoli, PA 19301. Please email to request access to another photo site with more pictures.