Daniel Bennet Moskowitz

Daniel Bennet Moskowitz

Warm. Gregarious. Principled. Curious. Intellectual. Reassuring. Admirable. Entertaining. Lively. Loving. One-of-a-kind. These are the words friends and family have used to describe Dan after he left us shortly past midnight on October 29th.

Dan was an engaged and engaging man, deeply involved with his family, community, synagogue, profession, and his abiding interest in music and theater. Dan and his wife Else moved to Washington in 1965, and a few years later built a home in Palisades. Dan embraced life in the neighborhood, serving as a founder of the Friends of the Palisades Library, a member and president of the Palisades Citizens Association, member and Chairman of the Palisades Neighborhood Planning Committee (all of which involved many meetings and the completion of many needlepoint pillows on Dan’s part), as a founder of Palisades Village, and co-President (with Else) of the Key School PTA. He was also an active member of Temple Micah, which the family joined in 1970, an enthusiastic congregant whose contributions ranged from dramatic readings and the launch of the 25-Year Club to honor longtime members, to his role as a founder of Micah House.

All of this activity was a backdrop to his career as an accomplished journalist, who covered the Supreme Court for Business Week for many years, launched and edited the Business Week Newsletter for Family-Owned Businesses, and wrote the “Business Law” column for The Washington Post from 1979 – 1992. His career with McGraw-Hill spanned 35 years, during which he worked in Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City, and as Bureau Chief for McGraw-Hill World News in Denver and Toronto. After retirement from McGraw-Hill, Dan worked as a freelance journalist specializing in issues of law and health for more than thirty years, most recently penning a column on intriguing court cases of the past for American History magazine. He was a recipient of the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Silver Gavel Award, the ABA’s highest honor for journalism and other media that foster public understanding of the law and the legal system.

For his third act, Dan was able to share his lifelong love of musical theater and popular song as an instructor for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at American University. His courses, which often sported long waiting lists, were the result of countless hours of research that he enjoyed immensely, and brought him new experiences and friendships in the last decade of his life.

Born in St. Louis, MO, on February 13, 1935, Dan was raised by Bert and Lilly Moskowitz in Springfield, IL. College brought him east to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, where he earned a B.S. in Economics with a major in Journalism. An active Penn Quaker, Dan hosted a radio show on campus station WXPN, was Managing Editor of the University Yearbook, The Record, and served as President for numerous other campus organizations. He met his bride, Else Weiss, in New York City through a beloved mutual friend, and they married in 1963. Their marriage of 62 years was a true meeting of minds, bolstered by stimulating exchanges every day of their life together. Their daughters, Luise and Marina, had a father who was loving, communicative, and endlessly curious about their lives. Dan will be remembered by many for his intelligence, his affability, his superb conversational skills, his smile, and his wild and abundant hair!

He is survived by his wife Else Weiss Moskowitz, his daughters Luise Z. Moskowitz (Kevin J. Lawrence) and Marina Moskowitz (Simon P. Newman), and his grandchildren David C. Lawrence and Triona G. Lawrence.

A Memorial service will be held at Temple Micah (2829 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington D.C. 2007) on Sunday, November 23, at 1:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, please consider donations in Dan’s name to one of the following organizations:
The Journalism Institute at the National Press Club
The Palisades Community Fund
The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at American University

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