A funeral Mass for Father Timothy Dwyer, SM, was celebrated Nov. 30 at the Cure of Ars Chapel of St. John Vianney High School in Kirkwood. Father Tim died Nov. 18 in San Antonio. He was 89 years old and a Marianist for 70 years.
Father Tim was a beloved chaplain, retreat director, religious formator, teacher and provincial administrator. Remembered for his prudence, exemplary religious spirit, fraternal charity, warmth and courage, he once wrote that he desired nothing more than “to lead others to God instead of seeking to have myself thought well of, to love Him more than myself.”
Timothy William Dwyer was born on Oct. 15, 1935, in St. Louis, the only child of Timothy and Mary (Haley) Dwyer. He first encountered the Marianists at De Andreis High School in St. Louis.
Brother Tim entered the novitiate at Marynook in Galesville, Wisconsin, and professed first vows in the Society of Mary on Aug. 15, 1954, at Marynook. He then began scholasticate studies at Maryhurst in Kirkwood before moving on to St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Mary’s in 1957. For the next six years, Brother Tim taught classes in religion, English, and Latin while also serving as athletics director at St. Joseph High School in Victoria, Texas. He then taught for a year at Villa St. Jean International School in Fribourg, Switzerland, before entering the Marianist Seminary there in 1964.
He was ordained to the priesthood in St. Louis on Aug. 4, 1968. Following ordination, Father Tim continued high school work for four more years, serving as a teacher and chaplain at St. Michael’s in Chicago and at Nolan Catholic in Fort Worth, Texas. Then, beginning in the early 1970s, Father Tim did retreat work, religious formation and provincial administration.
Father Tim served twice on staff at the Marianist Apostolic Center in Eureka (1972-76 and 1989-92), both preaching retreats and acting as the facility’s director. He spent two years (1987-88) as associate director at the Institute for Pastoral Ministry in Kansas City, Missouri, an assignment that focused on spirituality and retreat work. In between these stints, Father Tim guided religious formation programs for 11 years in San Antonio and Toronto, Ontario.
Called to provincial leadership in 1992, Father Tim served three years as provincial assistant for religious life before then being named provincial in 1995. He remained in that role until 2002, shepherding the former St. Louis Province through a process that would unite it with three other provinces to form the Marianist Province of the USA. He then stayed on for a time in leadership of the new province, serving until 2004 as provincial assistant for religious life.
Following this 12-year period in provincial administration, Father Tim took a sabbatical at the School of Applied Theology in Oakland, California. In 2005, he moved to San Antonio and returned to formation work, directing the aspirancy program at Casa Maria until 2010. From there, he went to the Marianist Family Retreat Center in Cape May, New Jersey, to serve as chaplain. He retired in 2017 to the Marianist Residence in San Antonio.
Father Tim was preceded in death by his parents. He is survived by numerous cousins.
Burial was in Maryhurst Cemetery at Vianney High School.
