Debra Ann Dwyer

Debra Ann Dwyer, age 60, of Lansing, NY passed away June 19, 2021 as a result of ovarian cancer. Deb was born on September 16, 1960 in Quincy, Illinois, daughter of Kenneth and Georgia Robertson. She received a bachelor's degree in Animal Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She met her husband while working at the US Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska. In 1987, they married and moved to Lansing, NY where Deb began her 33-year career at Cornell University. First, as a research technician she was a mentor, friend, and sometimes mother to numerous graduate students, and later as the university Institutional Biosafety Committee administrator where she supported faculty to successfully and safely accomplish their research.  

Deb is survived by her husband of 33 years, Daniel Dwyer; children, Abby and Zachary Dwyer; parents, Kenneth and Georgia Robertson; brothers, Steve and Kent Robertson; and many in-laws, nephews, and nieces.

A memorial gathering will be held from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. on Monday, July 12, 2021, at her home, 363 Luce Road, Lansing, NY.  A service will begin at 11:30 a.m., officiated by Rev. Ron Gaesser.

Services in Quincy, IL, will be led by Tim Robertson on Saturday, July 24, 2021, from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Ellington Memorial Presbyterian Church, 4600 North 36th Street, Quincy, IL.

The family asks those who would like to make a contribution in Deb’s memory to kindly consider the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance or Adirondack Council.