Dennis Dwyer '61
Knights Service Award
Dennis Dwyer '61 is a dedicated and accomplished member of the Bishop O'Connell community, whose lifelong commitment to service, education, and faith has made a lasting impact. A Falls Church native and graduate of St. James Catholic School, Dennis was in Bishop O'Connell's inaugural graduating class of 1961. Over the past six decades, he has remained deeply connected to both the school and the local community through his professional, volunteer, and spiritual contributions.
From 1970 through the 1990s, Dennis demonstrated a strong entrepreneurial spirit, founding and operating businesses in Falls Church and in Prince William County. Simultaneously, he devoted himself to service in his parish, teaching religious education at St. Mark School in Vienna and serving for several years on the parish "Tithing Allocation Committee." For the past 15 years, he has been both an Eucharistic Minister and Lector at Sunday Mass.
Dennis volunteered during the 1980s and 1990s at the Child Development Center of Falls Church. He worked with kids with disabilities in the classroom and served on the Board of Directors for the Center. During a time of financial crisis, he served for a year as the Executive Director. During this time, he lobbied the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to refer a sufficient number of clients to the Center to keep it financially viable while he and his staff sought a suitable partner to enable the great work of the Center to continue. Such a partner was found. The Center today is one of the premier Easter Seals early child development centers in the nation.
Included among civic awards Dennis received are the Greater Prince William County Chamber of Commerce Key Member of the Year award, plus a commendation by the PWC Board of Supervisors, both awards for lobbying at the state level on behalf of the county and its residents. He was subsequently appointed to serve a term representing Prince William County (PWC) on the Regional Council of Governments (COG).
Dennis also contributed to his community through youth sports. He coached for more than a decade, sharing his love for athletics with hundreds of local youths. As a former multi-sport letterman at Bishop O'Connell and member of the DJO Athletic Hall of Fame, he received multiple full football scholarship offers. He accepted the offer from the University of Virginia. He played both football and baseball at UVA until a medical issue curtailed his collegiate athletic career. After college, however, he played successive baseball seasons for Rochester during the peak of the Minnesota "Town Ball" era of the 1960s. His involvement in youth sports extended to the Clark Griffith Summer Collegiate League. His Prince William Gators team won a national championship in 1997 at the Johnstown AAABA Tournament. The team's jersey and cap were enshrined for the following year at the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, alongside that year's NCAA World Series and other youth league champions. Bringing the national title to PWC merited him a second commendation by the PWC Board of Supervisors.
Dennis returned to Bishop O'Connell and served alternately for five years as the Development Director and Alumni Coordinator while pursuing a master's degree in theology. He has dedicated the past 20 years to teaching the Catholic Faith in the classroom, sharing his faith and values with the next generation. His decades of service, leadership, and dedication to the school and broader community reflect the mission and spirit of Bishop O'Connell High School.
Dennis and his wife, Charlotte, have two sons who are both O'Connell graduates, Matthew '89 and Jonathan '93. Their grandson William is currently a junior at the school.
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