Dorothy G Oswald

Dorothy (Dotti) Oswald, 84, died peacefully at home on June 7, 2022. The oldest daughter of
John and Dorothy (Hough) St.Denis, she was born and raised in Plattsburgh NY and graduated
from SUNY-Plattsburgh in 1959. She then taught Home Economics in Pearl River NY, where she
met her future husband Dick, who was working at Lederle Laboratories there. Who wouldn’t
have been fascinated by a pretty girl driving around in a sky-blue MG-A with the top down in
the middle of winter, wearing a raccoon coat? Keeping to a plan she had made, after teaching for
three years in Pearl River she indulged her interest in Japan by going there to teach on an Air
Force base for a year, during which she traveled extensively in the far east. After returning she
briefly applied her sewing expertise as “Meg Carter”, Director of Customer Relations for
McCall’s Patterns in New York, and then she and Dick were married in 1964. After raising three
children she went back to work as Director of the North-West Bergen chapter of the Red Cross,
followed by eight years as Executive Director of the Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce, where
she increased membership substantially and helped bring to Ridgewood such amenities as
outdoor dining, Downtown for the Holidays, First Night, and the Sunday Farmers’ Market at the
train station. Finally, she spent three years as Marketing Director for the accounting firm
Flackman, Goodman and Potter. She was also active in the Ridgewood Home and School
Association and the College Club, and volunteered at the Center for Food Action. She was a
faithful Catholic and parishioner of Mt. Carmel Church in Ridgewood. Dotti was always a
wonderful wife, mother and grandmother. She was well known for her energy, initiative and
cheerful outgoing nature; and no accomplishment or act of kindness by a colleague or friend was
taken for granted, but always elicited a hand-written thank-you note or phone call of appreciation
from Dotti. She is survived by Dick, her loving husband of 58 years, with whom she shared their
love of music, theater, good food, good books, and travel; daughters Elaine Oswald (Jesse
Carroll) of Brooklyn, NY and Julie Woll (Bill) of Sinking Spring PA, a son David of Northvale,
grandsons Sam and Jayden Woll of Sinking Spring, and sisters Elaine St. Denis of Ridgewood
and Kathleen St. Denis of Plattsburgh NY. Visitation will be from 7 to 9 PM on Friday, June 17
at Feeney Funeral Home, 232 Franklin Ave. in Ridgewood. A funeral mass will be celebrated on
Saturday, June 18 at 9:30 AM at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 1 Passaic St., Ridgewood,
followed by a private burial at Evergreen Cemetery, Hillside, NJ. Memorial donations may be
made to the National Institute for People with Disabilities of New Jersey (NIPD-NJ, providing
group homes for the handicapped), 45 Whitney Rd., Mahwah NJ 07430 (https://www.yai.org/
locations/new-jersey) or to the Sister Lucy Fund for the needy at Mt. Carmel Church