Obituary of Donald Sweet

Donald H. Sweet, age 81, died peacefully with his family by his side on Sunday, February 25, 2007. Born in Washington D.C., he lived in Ridgewood for the past thirty-three years. Donald volunteered for the U.S. Navy at age seventeen. He attended aviation machinist mate and gunner and radar schools at Jacksonville, Florida, then served as a combat aircrewman, in the Pacific Theater of Operations, flying some fifty missions. Returning home in mid �" 1945, he was assigned to train new crews. After discharge from the Navy in 1946 he attended Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania and graduated in 1949. He then worked for the U.S. Navy Department on Advanced Underseas Weapons Systems in various locations in the United States, and also in the Far East during the Korean War. The next twenty-five years were spent in the corporate world, which included eighteen years with Celanese Corp. as Director of Employment and University Relations. This was followed by ten years as a management consultant. He retired in 1991. In 1972 he served on the Navy's Palenchar Task Force, which was instrumental in the development and initiation of the all-volunteer Navy. Author of six business books, The Sailor Aviators was his first "story" book, and Seaplanes at War was number two. He has also published a three-volume set of books on World War II: A Village Remembers �" Heroes Remembered: They All Served �" Our Generation Comes Home. Donald was a long-time member of West Side Presbyterian Church of Ridgewood. He is survived by his beloved wife Joyce Griffith Burdick, his daughters; Kara Klose and her husband Jim of Byram Township, Kimberly Bonney and her husband Scott of Park City, UT, and Allison Posternock and her husband Dan of Moorestown, his step-children; David Burdick and his partner Steve Whitford of Port Republic, Douglas Burdick and his wife Anita of Manalapan, and Carolyn Noon-Farina and her husband Rocco of Wyckoff. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren; Cory, Ian and Sawyer Klose, Joshua and Mia Posternock, Tory Burdick and Ryan and Kara Noon, and his two brothers; George and William Sweet and his sister Barbara Gray. Cremation was private. There will be a gathering of friends on Friday, 7-9 PM at Vander Plaat Funeral Home, 257 Godwin Ave. Wyckoff. A memorial service celebrating Donald's life will take place on Saturday, 11 AM, at West Side Presbyterian Church 6 South Monroe Street, Ridgewood. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions to the Multiple Sclerosis Society 1 Reed Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19147 or the Foundation Fighting Blindness P.O. Box 17279, Baltimore MD 21297-0495, would be appreciated. vpfh.com