Howard Dressner

Howard Dressner, "who retired in 1984 as general counsel of the Ford Foundation, died on Dec. 31 [2003] at New York University Medical Center. He was 83 and lived in Peter Cooper Village.

"Mr. Dressner joined the Ford Foundation in 1964 as a domestic affairs assistant and program officer in the president's office. He was named secretary in 1967 and assumed the new office of general counsel in 1971.

"In 1984 he founded the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York and was its president until 1991. The group serves as an umbrella for 1,100 organizations...

"Mr. Dressner is survived by his wife of 60 years, Sonia Segoda Dressner; a son, Robert, of Manhattan; a sister, Betty Dressner of York; and two grandchildren."