Malcolm Dutcher Ware, who lived through the Depression and fought in World War II, died Monday, May 27, with his family at his side. He was 101.
Born in Orange, N.J., on Jan. 18, 1918, Malcolm grew up in South Orange and Maplewood, raised his family in Rumson and Oceanport, N.J., and retired to Pinehurst, N.C., in 1981.
Malcolm graduated from Columbia High School in Maplewood, N.J., and from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1940 with a degree in industrial engineering.
He worked for Frigid Freeze, Rheem Manufacturing, and NL Industries, where he spent most of his career and rose to assistant director of corporate purchasing. He also had served his communities as president of the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional Board of Education, as a member of the Planning and Zoning Board of Pinehurst, and as an usher at The Village Chapel in Pinehurst.
In retirement, Malcolm was a member of two golf groups, the Tin Whistles and the Happy Hackers. Malcolm and his wife excelled as bridge players.
Malcolm was part of the Greatest Generation, and the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, he went to enlist in the Navy. So many Americans had applied, the Navy did not call upon Malcolm until May of 1942. He rose from ensign to lieutenant and served on the minesweepers USS Jubilant and USS Instill, and two YMS-class minesweepers. Malcolm was skipper of the Instill.
While one of the minesweepers was in for repair in Boston, Malcolm met his future wife, Marjorie Osgood, an undergraduate at Boston University, at a dance. They married on Oct. 13, 1945, at The Little Church Around the Corner in Manhattan, with a reception at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.
They settled in Norfolk, Va., where the Instill served as a training ship in Chesapeake Bay for the minesweeper school. Malcolm helped sail the Instill to Orange, Texas, in 1946 in preparation for decommissioning.
Malcolm was predeceased by his beloved wife of 67 years, Marjorie; daughter, Pamela Anne; brother, John; and sister, Janice. He is survived by two sons, Malcolm, and his wife, Ann, of New Knoxville, Ohio, and Robert, and his wife, Maggi, of Neptune, N.J.; his loving companion, Sandy Gieryn of Southern Pines; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held at the Belle Meade Chapel, 200 Waters Drive, Southern Pines, at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Malcolm will be interred at Restland Memorial Park in East Hanover, N.J.
Online condolences may be made at www.bolesfuneralhome.com
Services entrusted to Boles Funeral Home of Southern Pines.
