Edith Schwager, 95, grammar columnist 'Dear Edie'

Edith Schwager, 95, a medical editor and author who wrote a grammarian's curmudgeon column under the name "Dear Edie," died Wednesday, Oct. 17, of natural causes at Wesley Enhanced Living at Stapeley in Germantown.

Mrs. Schwager worked for more than a decade as an editor in the department of medicine at Hahnemann Medical College, now part of Drexel University.

She then moved to Dorland Sweeney Jones, a health-information firm on South Broad Street. The company is now a worldwide conglomerate.

Mrs. Schwager never retired, writing freelance articles and two books well into her 70s. She lived in Philadelphia.

Born and raised in Trenton, Mrs. Schwager graduated from Central High School in 1932 at 15. She skipped college for financial reasons and worked as a secretary, first in Trenton and later in New York.

She met her future husband, Emanuel Schwager, in New York and married him in 1950. They divorced in 1974.

While raising two children, she typed papers for graduate students and physicians, and found she could improve their work.

"Her passion for the English language led her to begin suggesting corrections to their writing, which were almost always accepted," said her son, Michael J. Schwager.

She joined the American Medical Writers Association in 1964 and served as president of its Delaware Valley chapter from 1973 to 1975.

Mrs. Schwager edited the chapter's journal, Medical Communications, from 1980 to 1986. From 1986 to 2011, she wrote a popular column for the journal, "Dear Edie," in which she answered readers' questions about English grammar and usage.

In a 2005 column, Mrs. Schwager wrote about the misuse of the word gamete for gamut, as in "runs the gamete of gourmet delights."

Mrs. Schwager wrote, "Sex gets into everything, doesn't it?" and then suggested: "I have an admonition for the writer of those restaurant blurbs. That goes for all writers and editors. Do your home-work. LOOK IT UP."

She won the Harold Swanberg Award for Distinguished Service given by the American Medical Writers Association in 1986.

"She was Dear Edie. She was wonderful. Everyone loved her," association accountant Carol Griffin said. "Every association has one old-time member that is the association, and that was Edie. But mess up your grammar, and she'd tell you about it."

Deputy director Shari Rager said Mrs. Schwager served on the group's volunteer faculty, giving workshops and speaking at conferences.

"She was known for having wit and humor, and such competence," Rager said.

Mrs. Schwager learned to use a computer in her 70s and wrote two books, Medical English Usage and Abusage and Better Vocabulary in 30 Minutes a Day.

In 2009, while lunching at her favorite delicatessen, Mrs. Schwager suffered a stroke that left her unable to walk and dependent on others for care.

She moved to Stapeley, where her positive attitude and sharp mind endeared her to caregivers.

"Rather than dwelling on what she had lost, she was grateful for what she had," Michael Schwager said.

In addition to her son, she is survived by a daughter, Karen; and four grandchildren.

Mrs. Schwager donated her body to the Humanity Gifts Registry for medical research. A memorial service will be scheduled later.