By:
William M. Dwyer
William M. Dwyer, 88, of Lawrence, an author, teacher and veteran journalist, died Tuesday of complications following emergency surgery at the Medical Center at Princeton.
As an author, he was best known for "The Day is Ours!: How a Ragged Rebel Army Saved the Revolution," published by the Viking Press, and "What Everyone Knew About Sex," a spoof of Victorian sexologists published both in the United States and in England.
As a journalist, he was for many years a book editor and columnist, mostly with The Times of Trenton, specializing in American and New Jersey history. He also wrote for such publications as The New York Times, The New York Herald-Tribune, The Commonweal, the Christian Science Monitor and New Jersey Monthly.
Mr. Dwyer was a 1934 graduate of Cathedral High School and a 1939 graduate of St. Joseph’s College (now University) in Philadelphia, where he was a captain of the tennis team.
In World War II he served as a Stars and Stripes correspondent with the U.S. 4th Infantry Division in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany (often in company with Collier’s correspondent Ernest Hemingway). On one occasion, he was a member of a six-man truce party who went behind enemy lines for three hours and worked to negotiate the surrender of Rothenburg, a walled Bavarian city dating to the 14th century. He was awarded the Bronze Star.
He served as press secretary to Gov. Richard J. Hughes of New Jersey, accompanying the governor on such occasions as the Newark riots and the summit meetings in Glassboro between President Lyndon Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin.
For several years he taught English composition at Rider College (now University) and moderated Channel 13’s "New Jersey Speaks for Itself" program.
In 1969 he established the Serendipity Workshop, a storefront school in Trenton that offered free classes in writing to minority students and adults. Some of the graduates of the workshop qualified for college scholarships. Graduate Helen Jackson Lee wrote a book about her memories, "Nigger at the Window," published by Doubleday. Volunteer members of the workshop faculty included novelist Fletcher Knebel, magazine writers Laura Bergquist, Brock Brower and screenwriter J.P. Miller, best known for "Days of Wine and Roses."
Mr. Dwyer was a member of the Overseas Press Club of America, the American Civil Liberties Union and a founding member of the National Book Critics Circle.
He is survived by his wife of 43 years, the former Marjorie Wright, essayist and short story writer; a daughter, Suzanna Duncan Dwyer, English teacher at the Peddie School, and son-in-law, Andrew J. Harrison; two grandchildren, William Hall Harrison and Charlotte Elizabeth Harrison; a sister, Ann D. Schmierer; and several nieces and nephews.
Family and friends are invited to a garden gathering at 2 p.m. Saturday at his home to celebrate his life.
Arrangements are private under the direction of the Crabiel Memorial Funeral Home, 202 Stockton St., Hightstown.
Helen Dennish Knott
Helen Dennish Knott, 87, of Lawrence died Monday at St. Mary’s Medical Center, Langhorne, Pa.
Born in Trenton, Mrs. Knott lived in Lawrence for the past 55 years
She was in the last class of girls that graduated from Immaculate High in 1936.
Mrs. Knott was employed as a secretary for the state of New Jersey in the Department of Banking and Insurance in Trenton for 10 years.
She was a parishioner of St. Ann’s Church. She was a member of AARP, a member and officer of the Colonial Lakelands Ladies Club, and a former member of the Mount Carmel Guild.
Daughter of the late George and Ethel M. Marshall Dennish, wife of the late Robert C. Knott Sr. to whom she was married for 59 years, and sister of the late George Jr., Charles, Walter and Edward Dennish, she is survived by her daughter and son-in-law, Judith K. and Fred J. Totten of Titusville; her son and daughter-in-law, Robert C. Jr. and Pamela Knott of Coconut Creek, Fla.; two granddaughters, Karen M. Tomson and her husband Jeremy of Lawrenceville, and Jamie L. Totten and her fiance Zack Slaven of Virginia; a sister, Betty D. Kohler of Hyattsville, Md.; and several nieces and nephews.
The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. today from the Winowicz Funeral Chapel, 865 Brunswick Ave.
Rite of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Church of St. Ann, 1253 Lawrence Road, with the Rev. Vincent Gartland officiating.
Entombment will be in the Greenwood Mausoleum Chapel, Hamilton.
Calling hour will be today from 9 to 10 a.m. at the funeral chapel.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Sunshine Foundation, P.O. Box 55130, Trenton, NJ 08638.
Howard A. Vegotsky
RINGOES Howard A. Vegotsky, 49, died Monday at Hunterdon Medical Center, Flemington.
Born in Trenton, he resided in Ringoes the past 10 years.
Mr. Vegotsky attended Louisiana State University and was the former proprietor of Club 88 and later was the founder of Precious Pets Co., both in Ewing Township.
For the past several years he was a gentleman farmer and had a deep and abiding love for all animals.
He was a former emergency medical technician at Pennington Road First Aid and a fireman. Mr. Vegotsky was a volunteer law enforcement officer with the Middlesex County SPCA.
Son of the late Paul Vegotsky, he is survived by his wife, Lori Serota Vegotsky; his mother, Jeanette Vegotsky of Lawrenceville; a brother and sister-in-law, Phil and Lillian Vegotsky of Margate, Fla.; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Roni and Daniel Wolfson of Holland, Pa., and Mindy and Michael Levin of Pennington; a sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Jodi and Darren Kearns of Cape May; several nieces and nephews, including Stephen Bergenfeld and Jennifer Solimano, who were a son and daughter to him; and father-in-law Marvin Serota and wife Nancy Horowitz of Philadephia.
Funeral services are 1 p.m. Friday at Orland’s Ewing Memorial Chapel, 1534 Pennington Road, Ewing Township.
Burial will follow at Fountain Lawn Memorial Park.
Memorial contributions may be made to the West Jersey Animal Shelter (Attn: Jen Anton), 217 Griffith Morgan Lane, Pennsauken, NJ 08110.
