Rose Morey Dreyer

- the devoted wife and mother, a talented painter, a licensed aviator who aspired to serve her country in World War II, and an avid performer in experimental theater - concluded peacefully on December 29, 2018. She died in her own home, as she had wanted, surrounded by J.R. and Nancy, her loving children and their spouses Jonathan Cutler and Ken Rothman, and embraced by generations of family members, friends, fellow artists and countless others touched by her unconditional acceptance.

A third-generation Jewish American, Rose Morey was born in White Plains, New York on March 12, 1922 to Sigmund Morey, (né Moretsky), an inventor and used machine dealer, and “Sadie”(Sarah) Himoff Morey, a former concert pianist whose joyful presence stood atop an active household filled by Rose’s older siblings, Leonard and Lillian, and her younger brother Bobby.

Rose was raised and educated in the Elmsford, New York public schools. She was a child of the Great Depression and a teenager at the onset of the Second World War. After earning her civil aviation license, she tried to join the war effort as a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots but did not meet the height requirement.

Rose and Edward L. Dreyer were married in 1944. Ed and his brother Robert, became lifelong friends of the Morey’s who were already customers of the Dreyer family pharmacy even before Rose was born. After Ed got his degree in economics in 1939 from the University of Virginia, and as Rose studied for her baccalaureate in fine arts at William and Mary, Ed drove his motorcycle in circles around the Morey home, hoping to catch her attention and their romance took off in earnest. The couple’s engagement extended through Ed’s service in the U.S. Navy, including as commander of a submarine chaser near Okinawa, until their wedding could finally take place as victory approached.

For the lion’s share of their 66-year marriage, Rose and Ed lived in Short Hills, New Jersey; he, CEO of Adamas Carbide Corp., a tungsten carbide machine-tool manufacturer, which he grew into an international industry leader, and she, a PTA mom, and successful painter, with a one-woman show at the Newark Museum among her credits. Together, they are remembered for skiing fearlessly in the US and Europe, attending Olympic games in Munich, 1972, Los Angeles 1984, Seoul 1988, Atlanta, 1996 and Sydney 2000 and their deep sea fishing adventures off Montauk Point in New York, where, over the decades, they hosted a growing number of family members and fortunate friends.

Rose was an accomplished artist. She attended the Yale University Graduate Program in Fine Arts and studied under Hans Hoffman, the noted abstract expressionist. Also a performance artist, Rose was a member of the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds and a cast member in several productions by playwright Robert Wilson, who has been described as “[America’s] - or even the world’s - foremost avant garde theater artist.” In one, The Life & Times of Sigmund Freud, her time on stage was eclipsed by a fake tortoise whose journey across the stage lasted 22 minutes. In the 1980’s, amidst a cruel epidemic, Rose served on the Board of directors of Momentum, and supported their mission by serving meals at their soup-kitchen for AIDS patients, held at the Lutheran Church, on 5th Avenue, midtown Manhattan.

In all of Rose’s roles - the pilot, painter, performer, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother - what bound her to the people who loved her was her character: her deep and abiding interest in the people whose lives intersected with hers, the problems they shared and the boundless potential she saw in them, along with her contagious optimism, generous soul and boundless enjoyment of life.

Following the death of her beloved husband, Edward, in 2010, Rose continued living her engaged and active life - as her friends at book club, her fellow diners at the Orange Lawn Tennis Club, and the trainers at the gym she visited five days a week until just weeks ago can easily attest.

Bob and Anne Dreyer’s children, Josie Ganek and her husband Alan, and David Dreyer, also former residents of Short Hills, her granddaughter Samantha Gleit, and cousin Thomas Timen, friend and companion during her final years, joined together during the final hours of Rose’s life. The children and grandchildren of her late brothers and sister are among the dearest members of her family who mourn Rose Dreyer’s loss today.

Her funeral and burial will be private. Family and friends will join together for a celebration of Rose Dreyer’s life Saturday afternoon, January 5. In lieu of flowers, family recommend donations to the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Metrowest NJ (www.jcfmetrowest.org)