Obituary of Nathan Mayer

Mr. Nathan Mayer died Tuesday April 5th at the Barbara E. Cheung Memorial hospice in Edison. He was 99 years old. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he lived in many areas of the country during a long life. Locally, he resided in East Brunswick and moved to Rossmoor in Monroe Township ten years ago. After graduating from high school at age 14, he attended the University of Wisconsin, but left school one semester shy of graduating because due to the depression he had no money. The only job he could find was at White Castle restaurant where they paid him in burgers, coffee and apple pie. In 1927 he rode on the first regularly scheduled airline flight between Peoria and Chicago, reporting for the Peoria Star. Working on the copy desk at the Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph in March 1938, news of the Anschluss came over the teletype. William Randolph Hearst, the owner of the paper and the model for "Citizen Kane" had spoken to Hitler's righthand man Hermann Goering who told him that Hitler wouldn't march into Austria. Hearst believed Goering and said so in his front page editorial. Nate pulled it. Nobody did that to Hearst without permission and when Hearst called and demanded an explanation Mr. Mayer replied �I didn�t want you to look like a damn fool�. Hearst hung up. After apprenticing for a licensed attorney (who he then married), he passed the bar in 1939. He began his 14 year law practice in Columbus, Ohio. During WW2 he worked nights on a lathe fabricating airplane parts for Curtis Wright Aviation while continuing his law practice. He wrote a number of plays, one of which, �Beyond a Reasonable Doubt� was performed to sold out crowds at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ, and is still being produced today. It was optioned for Broadway, but never produced because of the sudden death of the producer. Additionally, he was an inventor, and holds numerous patents, specifically in the area of non-woven fabrics for medical use. He was predeceased by his first two wives, Goldie Kanter and Anna Berenson. Surviving are his wife, Helen Heumann, two sons, David and his wife, Roberta of Columbus, OH, and Steven and his wife Randy of Berkeley, CA, a daughter, Miriam Sawyer, and her husband, Richard, of Wilmington, DE, and 3 step children. Also surviving are seven grandchildren, two great grandchildren and seven step grandchildren. Private cremation services were under the supervision of the M. David DeMarco Funeral Home, Monroe Township, NJ. A memorial service will be held on Sunday May 29th at 2 pm at the Forsgate Country Club. Friends and relatives may visit with the family beginning at 1 pm. Memorial contributions may be made to Doctors without Borders. For information, please visit www.demarcofuneralhome.com.