HERMAN OBERMAYER

OBERMAYER HERMAN OBERMAYER "Obe" Loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend, died peacefully in his sleep on May 11, 2016 at his home in Arlington, VA. He was 91. He was married for 58 years to the love of his life, Betty Nan L. Obermayer, who passed away in 2013. Mr. Obermayer''s rich life spanned the worlds of journalism, publishing, and politics in both the United States and abroad. He was owner and publisher of the Long Branch (NJ) Daily Record from 1957 to 1971 and of the Northern Virginia Sun from 1963 to 1989, and he lived in the Washington area since 1971. He counseled newspapers in emerging democracies for the U.S. State Department from 1990 to 2002 in Hungary, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova, Slovenia, Macedonia, Russia, Croatia, and Serbia. He also wrote several significant books: Soldiering for Freedom: A GI''s Account of World War II about his experiences as a U.S. Army soldier in the European Theatre, published in 2005; Rehnquist: A Personal Portrait of the Distinguished Chief Justice of the U.S. about his friendship with the renowned justice, a 2009 work that was translated into Chinese and became a best seller in China; and Jews in the News: British and American Newspaper Articles about Jews 1665 through 1800. Additionally, he donated his collection of 3,100 original newspaper articles to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. While publisher of the Northern Virginia Sun, he wrote a weekly column about his life, politics, and philosophy. In 1983 and 1984, he served as a judge for the prestigious Pulitzer Prize. Obe Obermayer was born in Philadelphia, PA on September 19, 1924 where he graduated from Central High School. He graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College in 1946 and was an English major, studying under the poet Robert Frost. His college years were interrupted by World War II, during which he served as a Staff Sergeant in the European Theatre from 1943-1946 and was awarded the Rhineland Campaign Star. He attended the Nuremberg Trials. As a teen, he became an Eagle Scout and as an adult, he was a member of the Executive Council of the Monmouth County (N.J.) Boy Scout Council from 1958 - 1971 and on the Executive Committee of the National Capital Council of the Boy Scouts of America from 1971 - 1979. He also worked with the Jewish Policy Center and served on the National Board of the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) since 1996 and the National Council of the American Jewish Committee (AJC). From 1989 to 2006, he was on the board of Commentary, a monthly magazine focused on religion, Judaism, politics, social and cultural issues. Mr. Obermayer was an active member of many other clubs and organizations, including Temple Rodef Shalom, (Falls Church, VA), the Washington Golf & Country Club (Arlington, VA), Cosmos Club (Washington, DC), Mont Pelerin Society, National Press Club (Washington, DC), Dartmouth Club (New York City, NY), Rotary Club, and Sigma Chi. He is survived by his four daughters, Helen Levy-Myers of Reston, VA, Veronica Atnipp of Houston, TX, Adele Malpass of New York City, NY and Elizabeth Weintraub of Rockville, MD; 11 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. A Memorial Service will take place at Temple Rodef Shalom, 2100 Westmoreland St., Falls Church, VA on Tuesday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Temple Rodef Shalom or the Folger Shakespeare Library.