William D. Dwyer ’51

Bill was born April 28, 1930, to William and Clara Daniels Dwyer. He was raised in Jersey City, N.J., and attended Stevens Academy in Hoboken. 

At Princeton he was a history major and belonged to Terrace Club and the St. Paul Society. Ill health deferred his degree to 1952, but he retained his membership in ’51.  

In 1955, Bill graduated from General Theological Seminary in New York with a bachelor of sacred theology degree. At the same time, he was ordained as a priest into the Episcopal Diocese of Newark.  

Called to inner-city ministry, he first served as vicar of St. Christopher’s Chapel on Henry Street, a Trinity Church mission in New York City. He married Utako Shiraishi in 1961. Bill was vicar of St. Stephen’s Church in the South End of Boston from 1963 to 1981. Then he served as rector of St. Peter’s Parish in Springfield, Mass., from 1981 to 1992. Fluent in Spanish, he was able to communicate directly with his Spanish-speaking parishioners. 

Bill died Feb. 11, 2015, having lived a life of service to his fellow man. He is survived by his wife, Utako; and their children, William, Stephen, and Joy Ross. His funeral was held at Christ Church Cathedral.