Edward Dwyer '53

Uncle Edward left money to Geneseo because he thought a lot of the school. Yes, he received his undergraduate teaching degree in 1953, but later returned to earn his master’s after he came back from teaching in Paris. He needed the Master’s before resuming and finishing his career at the Pittsford Central School District.

Edward always had a love for the theater and film. He got his start in the family barn on Oak St. He called the theater on the second floor of the barn the Nrab Theater. That’s barn spelled backwards! Neighbors would come from different parts of the village to see his productions. Later, he performed—and usually starred—in productions at the Geneseo High School (now the Doty building), and after that at the college.

After teaching for a year or so at Dansville, Uncle Eddie had a chance to go to Paris and work for the US State Dept. His job was to teach the kids of US Servicemen stationed there after the end of World War II. He loved Paris and enjoyed putting on dinner parties at his apartment. He would often invite well known people, including his friend Miss Olivia de Havilland, who played a lead in “Gone with the Wind.” Miss de Havilland had the most beautiful handwriting. Uncle Eddie sent her a large bouquet every July for her birthday, and she would send the most beautiful handwritten notes you’ve ever seen.

Edward’s life in Paris came to a close when the country asked US Forces to leave. At that point, Edward came back to Geneseo and picked up his Master’s, as I noted earlier. He lived in Brighton until he passed in December 2014. He did a lot of traveling, often to Paris, when he lived in Brighton during his teaching years and after he retired. The last couple years of his life were kind of sad in that his health deteriorated and he no longer could travel. One more note on his travel, Edward loved to cross the Atlantic via ocean liner. I believe he made 50 crossings, including a trip on the new Queen Mary. In fact, he may have been on the ship’s maiden voyage.
-David Dwyer ‘73