Susan Gayle (Olinger) Dwyer

Susan Gayle Olinger Dwyer, of Geneseo, passed away on July 19, 2024, at Allure of Geneseo.  Cremation rites have been accorded and a memorial service will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, July 27, 2024, at First Congregational Church, Geneseo.  Pastor Linda Hunsaker will officiate. Inurnment will follow at Oakwood Cemetery.  A memorial visitation will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. on Friday, July 26, 2024, at Vandemore Funeral Homes & Crematory – Geneseo Chapel.  Memorials may be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Center, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105-9959.

Susan Gayle was born November 7, 1954, in Morrison, IL, the daughter of Norman and Jean Lorraine (Johnson) Olinger.  She graduated from Annawan High School, class of 1972.  She married Bill Dwyer on August 30, 1975, in Atkinson, and together, they had three children.  Though they later divorced they remained close friends until Bill’s passing on May 12, 2016.  In 1988, Sue began a custom quilting business making custom-ordered quilts, selling quilts in Bishop Hill, and quilting new and antique quilts for customers.  She also had a successful Etsy shop from 2013 to 2018, selling antique and vintage items and her crafts.  In her later years, she enjoyed selling at craft shows and flea markets. Sue also started a cleaning business in the Geneseo area in 1989.  When she and Bill moved to Wisconsin in 1998, she continued her cleaning business while also working as a hospital housekeeper.  Three years later she was named the Housekeeping Supervisor at Southwest Health Center in Platteville, WI.  This was when Platteville was planning and building their new hospital and Sue found it gratifying to help with the planning of, and the smooth transition into, the new building.  She directed a staff of eleven housekeepers and laundry personnel.  When Sue moved back to Geneseo in 2009, she worked for over ten years in a nursing home and assisted living facility.  Sue’s paternal grandmother was born in a sod house near Wallace, NE, in 1891 and this led to a lifelong interest in pioneer history.  Sue loved to read, sew, and do many kinds of craft projects.  She also had an avid interest in politics and current events.

She is survived by her children, Matthew (Jessica) Dwyer, Molly (Mike) Secymore, and Jess (Jadyn) Dwyer; grandchildren, Mallory, Henry, and Tanner Dwyer; Malcolm, Marshall, and Meredith Secymore, and Cash, Blaine, Kassidy, and Reese Dwyer; brother, Norman Olinger, Jr.; and special aunt and uncle, Cheryl and Terry Klocke and their family of St. Louis.

Sue was preceded in death by her parents, Norman and Jean Olinger; granddaughter, Machala Dwyer, and former husband, Bill Dwyer.