Albany - Wendy Shotsky, the best and most loyal lifelong Mets fan, sixteen year Mets Fantasy camper, winner of three Gold Ropes, the Tom McKenna award, the Tom Seaver Comeback Player of the Year award and the first but hopefully not last, woman inducted into the Mets Fantasy Camp Hall of Fame, passed away on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 at home, with her family by her side.  She would have liked to get those facts out first. 

Beloved daughter of the late Nathan and Nancy (Magram) Shotsky, Wendy was born in Brooklyn, NY on July 13, 1950, and grew up in Woodmere, NY. She graduated from Hewlett High school and Hofstra University before earning a master’s degree in communication arts from the New York Institute of Technology. She was a teacher, writer, and scholar of American History, particularly WWII and the Holocaust.  She was also a student of classic film, particularly film noir and silent film.  Wendy was a published author of several novels, written with her late sister, Susan, under the name Wendy Susans.

She began her career in health services as an educator at The AIDS Council of Northeastern New York, then went on to become the Director of the HIV Prevention Planning Group of The AIDS Institute at the New York State Department of Health. 

But baseball and her beloved Mets are what she lived for. There were only two seasons for Wendy, Baseball season and the off season.  She never stopped believing

Wendy leaves behind to grieve her beloved twins, Matthew Toonkel (Amy) and Nancy Toonkel, her devoted wife of 41 years, Laura Brodsky, along with Laura’s four children and eleven grandchildren, all of whom Wendy successfully cultivated into loyal Mets fans. 

Wendy leaves behind her many nieces and nephews, the children of her deeply loved sisters, Marsha Kaunitz and Susan Shotsky, who pre-decease her.

She also leaves behind to mourn her beloved Mets Fantasy Camp brothers and sisters, including but not limited to, Kathy and Ed, Tara, Jim and Roisin, Pinky — a Mets family literally too numerous to mention here. You know who you are. She loved you all. We would also very much like to thank all the nurses and staff of Community Hospice for their compassion, professionalism, and level of care that is beyond words.

In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to Wendy’s favorite charities, “Baseball For All” or “Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary” in Gainesville, Florida.

Funeral services for Wendy will be held on Thursday July 2nd graveside at 1:00pm at Albany Rural Cemetery. Funeral attendees will gather at the Loudonville 378 entrance to the cemetery prior to the service. 

And finally, for Wendy, put it in the books.

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