Dennis H. Greenwald, 95, died peacefully at home of congestive heart failure on April 10, 2021. Born June 2, 1925 in Passaic, NJ, to Bertha Wintner and Jacob Greenwald. A member of the Greatest Generation, after army service in World War II he rose from poverty through the GI Bill. That government assistance enabled him to attend Rutgers University, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1950. He then won scholarships to study philosophy, then law, at Harvard University, graduating cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1954. After serving a clerkship with a judge and working at a law firm in New York City, he became General Counsel at Waddell and Reed in Kansas City, Missouri, then General Counsel at Dean Witter Reynolds in NY, NY, where he was a mentor to young lawyers. He then was of counsel to several law firms, most recently Kramer, Levin, Naftalis, and Frankel. A kind and generous man, he will be greatly missed by his children Elissa (David) and Robert (Shari), beloved grandson Matthew and
step-granddaughter Melissa, many nieces and nephews, and his dear friend Tracy Plaut. He is survived most importantly by his partner in a passionate 71-year marriage, Fay Teichman Greenwald, the redhead he spotted “across a crowded room” at Rutgers Hillel in 1946, who regaled him with stories throughout their time together. The family wishes to thank his doctors, Preston Winters and Ronald Preston, for enabling him to live a good long life, and his caregivers, Jestina and Tashauna, for their compassionate care. If you wish to make a donation in his honor, please donate to causes dear to his heart: Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY; Harvard Law School; the Democratic Party; or any organization dedicated to the preservation of Nature, especially on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where a memorial service will be held at a later date.
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