Dawn Forlie

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Dawn M. Forlie, 79, a former Advance staffer who wrote many weddings and anniversary announcements for Staten Island couples, died Tuesday at home in Tottenville.

Born Dawn Alonzo in Manhattan, she relocated to Tottenville as a teenager and graduated from Tottenville High School.

She moved to Great Kills in about 1950, to Silver Lake in the early 1980s, back to Great Kills in about 2000 and settled in Tottenville about five years ago.

She earned bachelor's and master's degrees, both in English literature, from the former Richmond College in the 1970s and took additional course work at the CUNY Graduate Center in Manhattan.

Ms. Forlie taught business writing courses in the 1980s at the College of Staten Island and at the New York Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

She worked as a civilian employee in communications for the U.S. Navy at the Stapleton Home Port for about five years prior to the base closing in 1994.

She was a writer at the Advance for several years from the late 1990s until 2005. Known for her quick wit and charming manner when interviewing sources, she wrote about the life milestones of Staten Islanders.

She enjoyed spending time with family, playing with her boxer dogs, reading and gardening.

Her first husband of 43 years, Edward L. Forlie, died in 1993, and her second husband of six years, Vincenzo Alison, died last year.

Ms. Forlie is survived by a son, Edward.

The Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville, is handling the arrangements, which include an 11 a.m. service Tuesday at the funeral home and cremation.

Services: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Tuesday, October 4,2011 11:00AM

Visitation: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home Monday, September 3,2011 2-4 & 7-9PM

Memorials: In lieu of flowers,contributions to God's Love We Deliver--166 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10031

Cemetery: Rosehill Crematory

Location: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home

Church: Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home