Nancy Eileen Dwyer

Nancy Eileen (Snyder) Dwyer was born on September 26, 1934, in Reading, PA, to Clarence and Eileen (Galvin) Snyder. She had one sister, Patricia (Snyder) Yost of Lansdale, PA and one brother, Richard Snyder of Richlandtown, PA.

After short stays in Forest Hills, NY, and Canarsie, NY, she moved to Valley Stream, NY in 1960 and to Dominican Village, Amityville, NY in 2019.

She passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, on September 30, 2026, just days after enjoying her 92nd birthday.

Growing up, she attended St. Margaret’s Parochial School and Central Catholic High School, both in Reading, PA. She graduated in 1952. She was a member of Girl Scouts and Camp Fire Girls, leading hikes up Mount Penn to visit the Reading Pagoda. She enjoyed reading Shazam comic books, an early copy of Superman.

She graduated in 1956 from Penn State University with a BA in Journalism. While there, she met her future husband. She spotted him at a mixer, and thought 

“That’s the kind of guy I want to marry.”

No surprise, she married John J. Dwyer Jr on September 15, 1956. They had five children - Stephen, Eileen (Larsen), Daniel, Patricia (Johnston), and Kevin. All attended St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic School, where Nancy was a long-time parishioner. All are married, respectively, to Dalva, Louis, Nelda, Colin, and Mindy. Nancy and Jack had 9 Grandchildren, and a multitude of Great-grandchildren and Great-great-grandchildren.

As the kids got older, she put her journalism degree to work. She was the Editor for the Valley Stream MAILeader for 3 years, covering local issues, events, and news. She moved on to be a Reporter and then News Editor for The Long Island Catholic newspaper. She reported on social justice issues like poverty, health, housing, immigration, etc. She took early retirement in 1991 to become more active in these causes. She actually only retired from being paid, but was always busy with numerous activities.

Nancy volunteered with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Society from 1976-1996. Her work included the St. Raymond Conference in East Rockaway, serving as President of the Nassau South District Council from 1990-1993, organizing SWAP to paint and rehab houses, serving as liaison with twin conferences in the Dominican Republic, editing the FYI newsletter, and organizing the Youth Award.

She was involved with Teams of Our Lady Married Couples’ group and was a member of Oasis, a prayer and discussion group. She acted in Improvisational shows to educate the public about the homeless and the undocumented. Nancy served as President of the Valley Stream Democratic Club from 1998-2003 and was a Democratic committeewoman and volunteer in political campaigns including for Senator Hillary Clinton and Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy. She had lunch with Hillary Clinton during her campaign!

She was involved with the Social Concerns Committee at Blessed Sacrament Church in Valley Stream and the Justice and Peace Ministry at St. Anthony’s Church in Oceanside.

Nancy was a Board member of the VAMOS! Organization. VAMOS! helps the poor in and around the city of Cuernavaca, Mexico by promoting self-help development and offering nutrition, education, medical, dental services as well as a mobile computer project for teens. Nancy was a Board Member, and traveled to Cuernavaca several times to participate in various projects. At Christmastime, instead of giving gifts to her family members, who truthfully did not need more stuff, she would make donations to people in need in Cuernavaca.

She preached at churches throughout Long Island about the Rockville Centre Diocesan Mission in El Cercado, Dominican Republic, visiting there several times. She was also involved with the Long Island Progressive Coalition.

She especially enjoyed organizing and participating in demonstrations with Pax Christi Long Island and Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives and “making a joyful noise unto the Lord” with her drum. She has also demonstrated and drummed with LI Progressive Coalition, Jobs with Justice, LI Immigrant Alliance and the Workplace Project. Every time she participated in a demonstration, she would write the name and date on her drum. Even with small print, it quickly became very full!

Even after an actual retirement to Dominican Village in Amityville, NY, she remained active. She was on the Independent Living Council, participated in discussion and theology groups, and enjoyed exercise classes such as Chair Yoga, beachball volleyball, and Beat It (a drumming class).

The VAMOS! Organization and the families they help were always dear to her heart. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to:

www.vamosinmexico.org

VAMOS! P.O. Box 212 Weston, VT 05161

Visitation will be held on Tuesday, October 6th, 2026

4-8 PM

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Wednesday, October 7th 10:00 AM 

St. Joseph's RC Church 

1346 Broadway, Hewlett, NY 11557

Private Disposition to follow.

Final Disposition will be held on Friday, October 9th, 2026 at 11 AM 

St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY