Harry F. ‘Skip’ Ungar, 96, Beloved
Family Man, Composer and Humorist
Harry F. “Skip” Ungar, 96, a longtime resident of Scotch Plains, N.J. — known to his family, friends, and community as “America’s Most Famous Unknown Songwriter” — passed away on Monday, June 2, 2025, in Morristown. His sons, Paul and Michael, were at his side.
Skip was born in New York City in 1929, on the eve of the Great Depression. His father died in his arms when he was 11. He lost his loving stepfather just a few years later. He could have grown to be a bitter and unforgiving man. Instead, he became the opposite — a man defined by joy and generosity.
Skippy lived to make others laugh. An incorrigible punster, Skip would call his family and friends regularly just to ask something like: “Why couldn’t the colt sing?” (He was a little horse.) “What country never wins or loses?” (Thailand.) He likewise delighted the readers of his humor column, “A Glance Askance” (published in the Newark Star-Ledger) and in his many books, including “You are about to be Pun-ished.”
He was a musical tour de force, both at the piano and as a composer. He penned his first song at age 13 with his lifelong friend and sometime collaborator, Charles “Buddy” Strouse; began playing at Manhattan bars not long thereafter, and briefly worked at two of the large music publishing houses in New York’s famous Brill Building. But Skip’s kind and honorable nature was ill-suited to the industry’s cutthroat ways, so he chose family business over professional music. Still, his passion for composing never dimmed. He wrote songbooks full of catchy melodies and witty rhymes over the years. Many were written to make you chuckle — like “My Teeth May Be False, But My Heart Will Be True” and “You’ve Got the Face For Radio.” Others were heartfelt expressions of his profound love of love, including the beautiful “Will I Ever” from Merry Olde New England — a musical gently needling the rivalry between Scotch Plains and Fanwood, which he wrote in 1959 with his wife, Manya Shayon.
Skip maintained an astonishing knowledge of the Great American Songbook. In his retirement, he brought his talents to many a local watering hole — as well as the assisted living circuit, playing for audiences who loved to hear the songs of their youth. “Only one fell asleep!” he would joke after returning from each set. He continued to perform and delight his audiences right up to the week before his passing.
Skip was predeceased by his parents, Harry Sr. and Elaine; his brother, Alexander, and Manya, who passed away in 2003 after 52 years of marriage.
Skip was a Dartmouth man through and through. He graduated in 1949 and remained an active member of the alumni community for the next 75 years. With his brother, Alex, he ran the Ungar family cigar box business for decades. He supported Manya as her volunteer education advocacy led to ever more significant roles with the local, state, and national PTA. A dedicated volunteer in his own right, he was named the Scotch Plains Jaycees Man of the Year, served as head of the Fanwood Recreation Commission, and hosted dozens of international exchange students in the family home through the American Field Service. He adored swimming, tennis, and golf (until his hip gave out), and was a fixture at the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA and Fanwood’s Hilltop Tennis Club.
Skip was blessed with 22 more years of life after Manya passed. He played more tennis with family and friends, swam more laps in the pool, wrote more songs, told more jokes and puns, and played more gigs. He saw his grandchildren grow up and get married. And he found love once again with Lubove (Luba) Schnable — whose passing preceded his by six weeks. Drawn together by their shared love of music, books, and bridge, he gained new friends and family when he married her in 2019, at the age of 90.
His was a full and good life. If you should think of him and start to miss him, grab a book full of puns and chuckle at the worst one you can find. He’ll be there laughing alongside you.
Skip is survived by his sons, Paul and Michael; daughters-in-law, Donna and Maren; grandchildren, Miles, Cole, Sam, Bee, and Mari; grandchildren-in-law, Yurika, Alex, and Daryl; great-granddaughter, Maya; stepdaughter, LuAnn; and step grandsons, Sebastian and Alexander.
A private memorial will be held on Saturday, July 19.A celebration of his life will follow later this summer — if you’d like to know more, please contact sungar@gmail.com. Come prepared to tell a joke.
July 17, 2025
