Betty Ruth Sweren

Betty R. Sweren died peacefully in her sleep on May 22, 2026, in Lutherville, Maryland, at the age of 94. She was a life-long bibliophile and artist whose philanthropy supported a wide range of causes, including theater, student book collecting contests, museums, and libraries.

Betty 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.

Born Betty Ruth Applestein on October 6, 1931 in Baltimore, Maryland, she met Edgar on a blind date when she was 16 and a student at Western High School. They married two years later and remained together for the next 72 years until Edgar’s passing in 2022. She was a proud alumna of Goucher College and Johns Hopkins University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and master’s degree in Applied Behavioral Science, respectively.

At various times in her career, Betty was an elementary school teacher, office assistant in Edgar’s orthodontic practice, book author, and college instructor. She was a founding member of Baltimore Center Stage, and later a longtime board member, joining the theater when it was established in 1963. In later years, Betty organized pre-show dinners for friends and family to reconnect and support the local arts.

In her early 40s, Betty took a class with the world-renowned calligrapher, Donald Jackson, which sparked an enduring interest in artists’ books—books that double as works of art, where the binding, covers, pages, and even typeface offer opportunities for creative expression. 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. She wrote two children’s books, which were printed in braille to educate blind children about dental health and now sit in the library of the American Dental Association.

Betty and Edgar leave behind a legacy of philanthropy in the Baltimore area. 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.

Betty was an avid reader, 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 and her husband, Edgar, established a Sustaining Fund for Orthodontics at the University of Maryland (UM) School of Dentistry. The Orthodontics Clinic at UM was named in their honor.

When asked what she was most proud of in her life, Betty consistently said it was her family. She was a particularly proud and engaged grandparent. Any call to the Sweren residence would result in a detailed accounting of her grandchildren’s latest accomplishments in work, sports, academia, or the arts. Her brother Fred described her as the grandchildren’s best PR person. She never forgot a birthday, sending light-hearted, animated e-cards and following up with a phone call or an e-mail. Betty was loved by many, and will be missed.


Betty’s family plans to celebrate her life on June 14. For more details, contact Maralee Clark at maraleeclark@gmail.com. Contributions in Betty’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