Audrey Elizabeth Dwyer

Audrey Elizabeth (Harcourt) Dwyer, 99, died Tuesday, June 14, 2016, at Presidential Oaks in Concord. She was the widow of F. Charles Dwyer who died in 1982.

She was born in Quincy, Mass. on July 8, 1916, and was a daughter of the late George and Harriet (Tees) Harcourt. She was a graduate of Quincy High School (where she was voted "Most Carefree") and Fisher Junior College in Boston.

Audrey worked as a secretary at the Boston office of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. In 1943 she joined the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve (SPARS) where she served in Washington, DC until the end of the war in 1946. In the Korean War, she again served her country as a member of the Navy WAVES, stationed in Pensacola, Fla. After returning to employment at the Quincy, Mass. Social Security office following the Korean War, Audrey met Charlie Dwyer through a mutual friend, married in 1952, and moved to Concord.

After raising her family and caring for her husband, Audrey attended Mount St. Mary's College and the New Hampshire Technical Institute, receiving an Associate's Degree in Science when she was nearly 70.

Audrey was an active member of St. Peter's in Concord, where she worked in the church office and taught Sunday school. She volunteered at the Adult Tutorial Program, Head Start, and Beaver Meadow School. She was also a member of the Catholic Daughters and of The Red Hat Society in Concord.

Audrey was an avid reader and enjoyed travelling, swimming, and spending time with her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at the family cabin in Deerfield. 

Audrey is survived by two sons, George Dwyer and his wife, Lauren of Jewett City, Conn. and James Dwyer and his fiancée, Carrie Dudley of Deerfield; a daughter, Patricia Dwyer and her husband, Ralph Humphries of San Carlos, Calif.; four grandchildren, Joshua, James and Sean Dwyer and Nathan Humphries; a step-grandson, Joseph Bissonnette of Colorado; three great-grandchildren; two sisters, Evelyn (Harcourt) DeRusha of Newton, Mass. and Polly (Harcourt) Olney of Santa Rosa, Calif.; and many nieces and nephews. 

She was also the mother of the late Kevin Dwyer who died in 2011 and the sister of the late Theresa Harcourt, Claire (Harcourt) Leppenan, and Beatrice (Harcourt) Patterson. 

Visitation will be held Friday evening, July 8, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Bennet Funeral Home.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, July 9, at 10 a.m. at St. John Church, with interment immediately following.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Audrey's name to the Visiting Nurse Association or to the Institute on Brain Injury.

Arrangements are entrusted to the Bennett Funeral Home of Concord. Online condolences can be expressed at bennettfuneral.com.