Geraldine Quick O’Dwyer (Gerry) died peacefully in San Diego, California on September 12, 2016, with her husband Bob by her side. She was eighty-seven years old. Gerry and Bob met on a blind date in Newport News, Virginia, where Gerry was born and Bob was serving in the Navy. According to Bob, Gerry ended the date by informing him of her ring size: 4 1/2. Both agreed it was love at first sight. They were married sixty-three years.
Gerry danced through life, beginning with ballet lessons at age seven. After graduating from Newport News High School, she moved to New York City and knocked on the stage door at Radio City Music Hall, requesting an audition. She was hired as a Rockette and high-kicked with the troupe for five years. For more than half a century, she remained active in the Rockette Alumnae, and, as a member of the “Breathless Twelve,” danced at the United Nations and the Rainbow Room and on the television shows “To Tell the Truth,” “Mike Douglas,” and “Jack Paar.” Until the end, Rockettes numbered among Gerry’s closest friends.
Gerry passed on her love of dance to countless children and adults, especially at her studio, the Geraldine Q. O’Dwyer Dance Centre in Allenhurst, New Jersey. After Gerry and Bob retired and moved to San Diego, Gerry dusted off her tap shoes to perform professionally with the “Palm Springs Follies.” She also appeared with the “Hot Flashes,” “Tap Tones,” and “Rockerettes,” and the musical revue “Way Way West of Broadway.”
Gerry was a dedicated volunteer at Palomar Hospital, Jersey Shore Medical Center, and San Diego’s Old Town. She sang second soprano in the choir at San Rafael Church. A believer that anything was possible if she worked hard enough, she earned an Associate degree in dance from Palomar College at age seventy-three.
Gerry was a beloved mother to her five children. Her grandchildren adored her. She cherished her many dear friends and extended family, from every period and place of her life. Gerry walked with grace and radiated kindness. She embodied goodness.
Gerry was predeceased by her parents, Ethel Allen Quick and Robert Eldridge “Tommy” Quick, and her first cousin, Charlotte Garrett. In addition to her husband Bob, she is survived by her children Patrice Anne O’Dwyer, Adrienne O’Dwyer Phillips, Jessica Elizabeth O’Dwyer, Robert Joseph O’Dwyer, Jr., and Deanna O’Dwyer Swensen; eight grandchildren; one great-granddaughter; and several cousins. Gerry’s family thanks the staffs of Avalon Home Care, Always There, Coronado Retirement Village, and Sharp and Sonata hospices.
A funeral Mass will be held at 10 AM, September 26 at San Rafael Catholic Church, 17252 Bernardo Center Drive, with a reception immediately following. Cremation was arranged by Cortez Cremations. At a future date, Gerry’s ashes will be interred at Miramar National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made online to Alzheimer’s Association, http://www.alz.org/join_the_cause_donate.asp, or mailed to Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 96011, Washington, DC 20090-6011.
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