Dr. John T. Dizer Jr.

1921 - 2017

Dr. John T. Dizer, Jr. 1921 - 2017
MARCY - Dr. John T. Dizer, Jr., Professor and Dean Emeritus of Mohawk Valley Community College, formerly of Marcy, died on March 23, 2017, at age 95.
He was born November 7, 1921, in Norwood, Massachusetts, the son of John T. and Eunice Homer Dizer, and grew up in Bellows Falls, Vermont. He was awarded a BS in Mechanical/Industrial Engineering in 1943 from Northeastern University. He received the MS in 1947 and PhD in 1969 in engineering from Purdue University. Jack married Marie Leerkamp on December 25, 1947. She died December 3, 1993.
Survivors include a special friend, Rita M. Reynolds; his sister-in-law, Ikuko Dizer; his children, John T., III, and Harleen Dizer, Jane D. and Clarence Holland, William D. and June Dizer, Ann E. and Carl A. Pelzer, and Mary D. and Richard K. Wagner; seven grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his brother, William H. Dizer.
Jack served as a US Navy officer in both World War II and the Korean War.
Jack and his family moved to Marcy, NY, in 1959 when he joined the faculty of Mohawk Valley Community College. He served as professor and head of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department and later as Dean of the Engineering Technologies and Business Divisions of the college.
Jack served as a trustee or director of the Dunham Public Library, the Oneida County Historical Society, the Utica chapter of the American Red Cross, the Council of Churches of the Mohawk Valley, and President of the Salem Community Center. He had been active in the Boy Scouts for more than 60 years. He was privileged to attend Camp Sangamon in VT for seven summers as a boy. He was an active member of Plymouth Bethesda United Church of Christ.
He was a prolific writer both in engineering and in popular children's literature and had published over 100 articles and four books. Jack was active in the Wheelmen, restoring and riding antique bicycles, and restored reed organs and Triumph sports cars.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to the General Breed Fund (for Camp Sangamon) at 85 Prim Road, Suite 201, Colchester, VT 05446, http://www.generalbreed.org/donate, or to a literacy charity or local "friends of a public library" of your choice.
A memorial service will be held at Plymouth Bethesda United Church of Christ, 500 Plant Street, Utica NY 13502, on Sunday, May 28, 2017, at 2 p.m., with a reception following the service.