Obituary of Marjorie Deiter Keyishian

Marjorie Ann Deiter Keyishian, 86, of Morristown, passed away October 23, 2022 at her home. She was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1935 to Rose and Mike (Maurice) Deiter. She attended school in Brooklyn, finishing Lincoln High School at 16 and attending Carnegie Tech in Pittsburg before transferring to Columbia University to complete her BA degree in English literature. She was an actor for many years, performing in summer stock and in New York City. She met her first husband there and that marriage produced two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth. After the divorce, they lived with Rose and Mike in Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn and she attended Columbia University for her Masters degree in English literature. She was hired at Fairleigh Dickinson University as an instructor in 1965 where she met Harry Keyishian, a professor of English and Shakespeare. They married and had Amy and Emily. Marjorie was writer of poetry and fiction, an art lover and collector, and a voracious reader. She loved to talk ideas and was fascinated with certain writers. some of her favorites were Yeats, Joyce, Proust, Jane Austen, and Murakami, Stoppard, and Montaigne. She published three volumes of poetry, and her work—poetry, fiction, essays, and reviews—appeared in many journals, including the New York Times. She was a member of Bridge Writers fiction group, which met in Manhattan, and the South Mountain Poets, who met in Milburn, NJ, over many decades. Her tastes and enthusiasm were eclectic. Having grown up on Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn, she had a special love of the ocean. She loved murder mysteries and impressionist painters, and trading successfully on the stock market. She especially loved travel and warmly enjoyed her trips to London, Paris, Tokyo, Dublin, Budapest, Rome, and Florence, among many other desinations. She had a tactile relationship with the world, loving children, good cooking, and good fun. Marjorie is survived by her loving husband, Harry, cherished daughters, Sarah, Elizabeth, Amy and Emily, seven adoring grandchildren: Noah, Gabriella, Sophie, Harry, Jake, Shane, and Abby, and her beloved brother Dr. Paul Deiter. A Funeral Service was held on Tuesday, October 26, 2021 at Burroughs, Kohr & Dangler Funeral Home, Madison. Interment took place on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Planned Parenthood online at www.plannedparenthood.org Photo by Elise Campbell.