Kabir Moss’s widow, Chelsea Mullin Smith, said the popular and New Jersey Democratic political operative was, “incredibly masculine but also the sweetest person you could ever meet.”
It was one of several descriptions of Moss as embodying traits that seemed particularly disparate in the world of politics, given by loved ones during a memorial service on Monday in Newark, where he
died suddenly last week
at age 37.
Before more than 250 mourners gathered in the Chase Room at the
New Jersey Performing Arts Center
, family, friends, elected officials, and college teammates described Moss as sincere but realistic; competitive yet compassionate; successful but not cravenly ambitious.
As a legislative aide in Trenton, Moss stood out not just because of his 6-foot 4-inch frame, but for his belief in and commitment to the progressive policies he worked to advance, said the lawmakers he worked for.
Smith, from whom Moss was separated after five years of marriage, read the Maya Angelou poem, “
When Great Trees Fall
.”
Newark and Essex County authorities are not investigating Moss’s death, and his family did not disclose the cause.
“We will never make sense of this tragedy,” his brother and only sibling, Gabriel Moss, told the gathering.
Moss, a California native, spent much of the last year living and working in Newark, where he was communications director for Mayor
Ras J. Baraka
’s Democratic primary campaign for governor.
In a video played at the service, Baraka said Moss was a near constant presence, supporting his positions and smoothing out his language during car rides to television interviews.
“It was always easy with Kabir,” Baraka said. “I’m going to miss you, Brother.”
Baraka campaign manager
James Gee
called Moss “a blessing,” and read the names of federal, state and local lawmakers who were on hand or had contributed to a stack of officially bound tributes. They included U.S. Reps.
Lamonica McIver
and
Nellie Pou;
Newark City Council President
C. Lawrence Crump
and Councilwoman
Louise Scott-Rountree
; tate Senate Majority Leader
Teresa Ruíz
; retired state Senate Majority Leader
Loretta Weinberg
, and state Sen.
Gordon Johnson
, among others.
Moss’ mother-in-law,
Nancy Erika Smith
, a well-known Essex County lawyer, joked that her son-in-law was her “favorite child.” And she cried.
Gabriel Moss described his brother as “a real explorer” who also attended Africa University in Zimbabwe and spent three years in the Peace Corps in Morocco.
“I was the vice president of the Global Rights Club,” during their high school years in Sacramento, Calif., Gabriel Moss said. But, he added, “Kabir was the one who lived that out.”
In addition to his widow and brother, Moss is survived by his parents, Cedar and David Moss of Madison, Wisconsin, who were at the service but did not speak.
Moss was a lifelong athlete who excelled in golf after taking up the game only a couple of years ago, and played on July 5, his 37th birthday, three days before he died.
As an undergraduate, he played forward for the Division III Emerson College Lions in Boston. One of his teammates, Eric Wahl, delivered a moment of sweetness and light to the somber gathering, choking back sobs just long enough to smile and say, “Kabir was the first boy I ever kissed.”
The crowd roared with laughter in a welcome release of grief and an expression of affection for Moss, after photos that repeated throughout the service on a video monitor included one of him and Wahl in a mock lip-lock during another Emerson teammate’s wedding reception.
Teammate Alex Yoh gave Wahl a hug that felt like it was on behalf of the entire crowd.
Weinberg quoted praise for Moss as “a political humanitarian,” “highly respected,” “extraordinary,” “remarkably creative,” and “a real mensch,”
“Those are just some of the things that were said about Kabir in the last few days,” Weinberg told the gathering, “in a magnificent, almost-overwhelming outpouring of love and respect for this beautiful man.”
Stories by
Steve Strunsky
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Kabir Moss, popular aide who uplifted N.J. Democrats, including Baraka, dies at 37
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