Betty Ruth Sweren, a noted local artist, educator, bibliophile, collector, philanthropist and author, passed away on Friday, May 22.
The Lutherville-Timonium resident was 94.
A Baltimore native, she was born Betty Ruth Applestein and attended Western High School. While a student there, she met her future husband, Dr. Edgar Sweren, on a blind date. They were married for 72 years until his passing in August of 2022.
Betty Sweren was a 1952 graduate of Goucher College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature. Later, she earned a master’s degree in applied behavioral science at Johns Hopkins University.
During her professional life, Sweren worked as an elementary school teacher and a college instructor, as well as an office assistant in her husband’s orthodontic practice.
In 1963, she was a founding member of Baltimore Center Stage and later became a longtime board member and supporter of the theater.
While in her early 40s, Sweren studied under Donald Jackson, a highly acclaimed British calligrapher and author.
She began collecting artists’ books “that double as works of art, where the binding, covers, pages, and even typeface offer opportunities for creative expression,” wrote her family. “Not only did Betty and Edgar amass a rare collection of artists’ books by pioneers in the genre, but Betty was a recognized practitioner in her own right, with several pieces exhibited or held by the National Gallery of Art Library, the Victoria and Albert Museum’s National Art Library, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.”
Sweren also wrote a pair of children’s books printed in braille to educate blind children about dental health. The books are now part of the American Dental Association Library and Archives.
In addition, the Swerens were major benefactors to local arts organizations and institutions. They established the Sweren Wogan Institute for the Study of the Book at Goucher College, which gives undergraduate students across academic disciplines the opportunity to engage in the book arts, the history of the book, and broader topics relating to books, from literacy and social justice to librarianship.
The Swerens also established a Sustaining Fund for Orthodontics at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry. The Orthodontics Clinic at UM was named in their honor.
In her spare time, Betty Sweren was a voracious reader, wrote her family, “especially of mystery novels and the sub-genre of ‘cozies,’ with amateur sleuths solving crimes in the English countryside. For many years, she served on the Board of Directors of the Friends of the Johns Hopkins Libraries.
“To cultivate a love of reading and book collecting among students, she and Edgar sponsored book collecting contests at both Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University, where students would catalogue and describe their private libraries, compiled and curated around personal themes. Several of those local award winners went on to claim national honors at the Library of Congress’s annual National Collegiate Book Collecting Contest in Washington, DC.”
Betty Sweren is survived by her younger brother Fred Neil; her three children, Shelley Wasserman, Bennett Sweren, and Maralee Clark; her 10 grandchildren, Teddy Wasserman, Emily Wasserman, Alison Wasserman, Rachel Wasserman, J.B. Wogan, Scott Sweren, Andrew Clark, Rebecca Clark Stoyanova, Casey Sweren Dexheimer, and Peyton Sweren; and her 11 great grandchildren, Henry, Sebastian, Willow, Asher, Libby, Graham, Molly, Collins, Denimir, Stanimir, and Camden.
She was predeceased by her sister, Carol Joyce Allen, her daughter Marcie Sweren Wogan; and her husband, Dr. Edgar Sweren.
Contributions in Sweren’s memory may be sent to Susan Cohen, Office of Advancement, Goucher College (susan.cohen@goucher.edu) to support the Sweren Wogan Institute for the Study of the Book.
Funeral services will be private. Sweren’s family plans to celebrate her life on Sunday, June 14. For details, contact Maralee Clark at maraleeclark@gmail.com.
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