BRUNSWICK — Warren R. Dwyer, 82, died of natural causes Jan. 16 surrounded by family.  

The son of Edward and Ellen Dwyer, he was born in Glen Ridge, N.J., June 24, 1927. 

After graduating from Montclair High School, he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II aboard the USS General W.C. Langfitt in the Pacific theater. 

He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He practiced law in New York City with Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft.

In 1957 he married Marilyn Habel, and they spent 52 years together filled with love and adventure.  They moved to the Boston area in 1959, where he served as corporate counsel for Raytheon, and later as vice president of international management consulting firm, Harbridge House. 

After a one-year assignment with Bath Iron Works, he moved his family to Maine in 1972 and purchased the Yarmouth-based firm, Down East Novelties, with business partner John Palmer.  

As the company president until his retirement in 1990, he grew the small local company into a firm with nationwide sales.     

His enthusiasm for life was best reflected in his service to others, and over the years served in numerous community organizations, including president of the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, vice president of Mid Coast Hospital, chairman of the Bowdoin College Friends Fund, president of the Maine State Music Theater, Deacon at First Parish Church, and nine years on the Brunswick Planning Board.

He lived his belief that one person can make a difference and in 2002, along with his wife Marilyn, received a Jefferson Award for a distinguished record of community involvement.

With a life-long love of the outdoors, he never lost his sense of wonder for life.  He hiked in the Arctic with his brother, Edward, traveled by icebreaker to the Antarctic with his wife Marilyn; crewed the Schooner Bowdoin from Labrador to Castine, and walked the walls of Samarkand, Uzbekistan. His family will remember him sailing across Casco Bay with a steady swell, 18 knots of wind, and a smile on his face.

He is survived by his wife Marilyn; daughter Alison Dwyer, son-in-law Philip Freeman, grandson Connor Freeman, granddaughter Kenzie Freeman; son Stuart Dwyer, daughter-in-law Julie Dwyer, grandsons Evan and Cameron Dwyer; brother Edward Dwyer, sister-in-law Debby Dwyer; and nieces Cindy Visbaras, Julie Farnsworth and their families.  

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 23, at First Parish Church in Brunswick. 

Arrangements are by Brackett Funeral Home, 29 Federal St., Brunswick.

Online condolences may be expressed to the family at www.brackettfuneralhome.com.

Memorial donations may be made to the Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust, 108 Maine St., Brunswick, ME 04011; or to First Parish Church, 9 Cleaveland St., Brunswick, ME 04011; or Hospice Care CHANS Home Health Care, 60 Baribeau Dr., Brunswick, ME 04011-3200. 

Sidebar Elements

---

Dwyer

Copy the Story Link