Annette Liliane Dwyer
(November 27, 1924 - October 25, 2017)
Annette L. Dwyer, 92, wife of the late Daniel F. Dwyer, died at her home at Geer Village in North Canaan, CT on October 25, 2017. She was born in New Bedford on November 27, 1924 to Blanche and Victor Charest and graduated from New Bedford High School, after which she earned a beautician certificate in Boston. She married Dan Dwyer in August 1947 and worked alongside him at Daniel F. Dwyer Funeral Home on Chestnut Street in New Bedford. Annette was active in many activities at St. Lawrence and later St. James Parish, and many civic organizations. At Sacred Heart Home, she was a member from 1984-1987 of Dames Patronesses, a group of volunteer women of which her grandmother was an original member, and served on its Board of Directors from 1987-2013. Annette joined the Catholic Women’s Club in 1947, serving as its president in 1974. At its 100th anniversary celebration last month, she was acknowledged as its oldest member.
After the merger of the Dwyer and Saunders funeral homes in 1985 and her husband’s death in 1987, Annette remained active civically, with Friends of the New Bedford Public Library, the Claire T. Carney Library Associates at UMass Dartmouth, where she served on the Board of Directors, and The Whaling Museum, where she was a docent for visiting grammar school classes. In 2013, she moved from her home in Dartmouth to a retirement community in northwest Connecticut close to two of her children. She is survived by her son Dan of Salisbury CT, daughters Louise Farrington of Naples FL and Anne Dwyer of Ashley Falls MA, her sister Rita Sheerin of Fairhaven MA, two granddaughters and one great-granddaughter.
Her Funeral will be held on Monday, October 30th at 9 AM from the Saunders-Dwyer Home for Funerals, 495 Park St., New Bedford, followed by her Funeral Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish at St. James Church at 10 AM. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery. Visiting hours will be on Sunday, October 29th from 5-7 PM. In lieu of flowers, remembrances may be made to the Catholic Women's Club, c/o Lynne Kuczewski, 300 Mendall Road Acushnet, MA 02743 or Sacred Heart Home c/o Activites Fund 359 Summer St., New Bedford MA 02740.