DUDLEY – Howard Dern, 83, died Saturday, October 18, in UMass/Memorial Healthcare, Worcester, after an illness.
He leaves his wife of 25 years, Glenda V. (Austin) Dern; 4 children, Dorinda A. Gest and her husband Richard of Dade City, FL; Dennis W. Dern and his wife Alicia of Powhatan, VA, Thomas A. Dern and his wife Patricia M. of Baldwin, NY, and Daniel W. Dern and his wife Claire of Shirley, NY; 10 grandchildren; 8 great grandchildren, nieces and nephews, including Eugenia Rudmann of Queens, NY.. He was preceded in death by 2 sons, Joseph H. and Howard M. Dern, by his brother, John D. Dern, and by his sister, Eugenia Rudmann.
He was born in Trenton, NJ, and raised in Queens, NY, son of Howard and Mary (O’Maley) Dern. He lived in Queens for many years before moving to Dudley around 1990. He graduated from Andrew Jackson High School, and then earned his college degree and later on a Master’s in Social Work, both from Adelphi College in Garden City, NY.
He was a Coast Guard veteran of World War II. Mr. Dern worked for the New York City Police Department for 27 years, retiring as a police sergeant. He then was a case worker for the Department of Children’s Youth Services in Norwich, CT until 1990.
He was a member of Saint Stephen’s Church in Quinebaug, CT. He belonged to the Singletary Road and Gun Club in Sutton. He was a member of the Police Benevolent Association in Manhattan. He was a member and past grand knight of the Daniel J. Bradley Council of the Knights of Columbus in Baldwin, NY.
The funeral will be held Wednesday, October 22, from Scanlon Funeral Service, 38 East Main Street, Webster, with a Mass at 10:00 AM in Saint Stephen’s Church, corner of Rts. 131 & 197, Quinebaug, CT. Burial, with full military honors, will be in the Mass. Memorial Veterans Cemetery in Winchendon. Calling hours are from 5:00 to 7:00 PM Tuesday, October 21, in the funeral home.