Noted Landscaper Dies In Dump Truck Collision

Robert L. Zion was internationally known for his work that also included Liberty State Park in Jersey City, Cincinnati's Riverfront Park and the Sculpture Garden at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Zion, 79, died the morning of April 25 after police said he pulled out in front of a Monmouth County Public Works Department dump truck. Authorities said the dump truck skidded at least 60 feet before slamming into the driver's side of Zion's van.

Zion operated Zion and Breen Associates Inc. in an old mill in the small village of Imlaystown, N.J. and owned an old church property and several houses.

"He was the Frank Lloyd Wright of his time, from a landscape architect perspective," Robert Abrams, a friend of Zion told the Asbury Park Press of Neptune for the April 26 editions.

Zion grew up on Long Island and attended Harvard, receiving both undergraduate and graduate degrees. He began working for I.M. Pei, the famed architect, and later went into business on his own.