LEO H. DWORSKY

1933 - 2020

DWORSKY, Leo H. Noted Contrarian, Fund Manager and Wit Leo Henry Dworsky died on Thursday, September 17, at home, in Tunbridge Vermont. He was born in New York City in 1933, the youngest son of Ruth Shenier Dworsky, a lawyer, and Moses F. Dworsky, founder of Fidelity Factors. He was a graduate of the Ethical Culture Fieldston School (1950), Oberlin College (1954) and Yale University Law School (1957). He moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts after law school to work for the Boston based law firm Gaston, Snow, Motley & Holt. He was introduced to Suzanne Rufenacht by mutual friends at a party in Cambridge. They were married in 1964. Leo became stepfather to Suzanne's two young children, Sandra Hughes and Kenneth Hughes, and in 1965 Leo and Suzanne's daughter, Alisa, was born. Leo was a contrarian by nature; it was through his work as an investment fund manager and as a writer for Fidelity Investments that he channeled this world view into a unique and successful approach to investing. In 1963, he was hired by Edward C. Johnson, II, founder of Fidelity Investments, as a security analyst. He became portfolio manager of Fidelity's Contrafund shortly after the fund began in 1967 and managed it until 1983, during which time he used the philosophy of contrary-opinion investing to generate returns for the fund well above market averages. He served as Vice President of Fidelity Management & Research Company from 1970-1983, managed Fidelity Destiny Fund (1970-72), managed the Congress Street Fund (1974-1983) and was the director of Fidelity's Technical Research Department (1983-1986). He became part of Fidelity's Publishing Group in 1986 as editor at large where he wrote a column for Fidelity's "Worth Magazine" under his pseudonym Contrarious. His columns were widely read and appreciated for his wit and the original cast of mind they displayed. Throughout his career his views on investing were quoted in articles from around the country. Among his artful phrases : "I enjoy working the gap between reality and what others perceive as reality" and " the contrary thing to do is to not always be contrary". He often used the term "Thin Reed Indicator", a metaphor to express his search for the first early hints of economic and social change that would appear like the thin reed bending first in a wind, a sign he used to identify imminent shifts in the financial markets. Leo remained a resident of Cambridge Massachusetts throughout the rest of his life and contributed to the greater Boston community in many ways. His served on the board of the Cambridge Adult Education Center, the Boston Children's Museum, The Mount Auburn Hospital and as treasurer of several organizations including the Buckingham School, Buckingham Brown and Nichols School, and Cambridge Community Foundation. He was a Director of the Cambridge Trust Company for many years. He was a longtime member of the St. Botolph Club, The Tavern Club, The Boston Economics Club, the Boston Committee on Foreign Relations and the Boston Security Analysts Society. Leo was also a part of the central Vermont community where he had a second home in Tunbridge for fifty years. Leo was a hiker, a walker and a talker, often stopping to chat with friends and neighbors as he made his way home from the subway each evening. He was playful and he could be goofy, spending hours entertaining his grandchildren with games of flashlight tag, impersonations of Donald Duck, and mimicking the sound of the frogs in his Vermont pond. He loved to drive America's back roads; Iowa and Maine were favorite destinations that he visited many times. He was known for charming new acquaintances he met along his travels; folks, caught up in his conversation, would often spontaneously offer to host him and his family for meals. Leo was appreciated for his sense of humor, his wit, his character and his love of family. He loved reading, especially the many biographies of Churchill and Roosevelt that he owned, as well as histories of World War II. He also enjoyed discussing politics, social relations and history with friends and family. He was a devoted husband to his wife Suzanne throughout their 56 years of marriage with whom he shared many interests including attending classical music concerts, visiting museums and traveling in Europe and the US where he was proud to have visited all the states with the exception of Alaska. He was always ready to share his unique insights into human nature and he enjoyed nothing more than to connect with people. "Only connect" he said, quoting E.M. Forster. Leo Dworsky is survived by his wife Suzanne Dworsky, his daughter Alisa Dworsky and her husband Danny Sagan (Montpelier VT), stepdaughter Sandra Hughes and her husband Anton Hajjar (Chevy Chase, MD), stepson Kenneth Hughes and his wife Kathleen Hughes (Arlington VA), grandchildren Leah Sagan-Dworsky, Sonya Sagan-Dworsky, Claire Hajjar, Gregory Hajjar, Michael Hughes and Brian Hughes, and his brother Alan J. Dworsky and his wife Suzanne W. Dworsky (Cambridge, MA). A memorial service will be held at some time in 2021 when we can gather as a community and honor Leo's life. Donations in Leo Dworsky's memory can be made to Gifford Medical Center, 44 South Randolph Street, Randolph, VT 05060 with a notice that the gift is being made in Leo's honor.

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