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Schwab and his family lived in Mamaroneck from 1952 to 1977. According to his son, Tony, "Mamaroneck was tremendously important to my father. . . One of my dad's proudest moments was when, on the night of Dr. (Martin Luther) King's death, he walked with black leaders through what was then called Washingtonville to express solidarity and commiseration."
After moving to Mamaroneck, Schwab and his wife became active in local Democratic politics. In the 1960s he and several like-minded individuals were elected as a slate to the Village Board, where he served as Village Trustee for several terms. Together they instituted a series of reforms, hiring an independent, professional Village Manager, conducting environmental cleanups and passing the Village's first sign ordinance."
He was born in New York City in 1923 and attended the Horace Mann School in Riverdale. He subsequently attended Harvard University, where he was President of the Harvard Crimson and graduated with a degree in American Studies
.A second lieutenant in the Army during World War II, he served in the Philippines and in Japan. In 1947, Mr. Schwab married Lois Feibleman of New Orleans. The following year, he joined the staff of the New York Times. At the Times, he was an editor for the Sunday Times, first with the Travel Section and later for the Week in Review. Mr. Schwab moved to the editorial board of Scientific American in 1961. Every month, Scientific American presented four to six articles written by prominent scientists, presenting their work in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics and engineering. Through close collaboration with the editorial staff, the scientists conveyed the complexity and detail of their subject matter to a non-technical audience without pandering or over-simplification. Schwab became Managing Editor in 1986. After retiring from Scientific American, he taught science writing as an Adjunct Instructor of Journalism at New York University.
After his first wife's death in 1999, Schwab married Dr. Constance Nathanson, Professor of Public Health at Columbia University.
He is survived by Dr. Nathanson as well as by three sons, Tony Schwab of Teaneck,N.J., and his wife Deborah, John Schwab of Bainbridge Island, Wash., and his wife Robin Lynn Smith, and Matthew Schwab of Stone Ridge, N.Y. and his wife Valerie Havas. He is survived by six grandchildren. Also surviving are two sisters, Laurie Schwab Zabin of Baltimore and Jacqueline Isler of Zurich, Switzerland.
A memorial service will be held at noon on Feb. 15 at the Manhattan Park Theater Club, 8 River Road, Roosevelt Island, N.Y.
Contributions in lieu of flowers may be made to Doctors Without Borders or the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.
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