EVELYN ELIZABETH “IBBIE” WILLIAMS DWYER
1981-2020
Evelyn Elizabeth “Ibbie” Williams Dwyer went to be with Her Lord and Savior on Tuesday, the 8th of June 2020, after a courageous battle with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension. She was 38 years of age.
Elizabeth was born in Houston on Friday, the 13th of November 1981, to her adoring parents, Nan Luckett Williams and Willoughby Claiborne Williams, Jr.
As a child, she was curious and very strong-willed, a trait that served her well throughout her life and particularly during her battle with her illness. Always full of life, she had a flair for the extravagant. She loved her little sister, Casey, fiercely from the moment she was born. One was rarely found without the other, a sentiment that continued throughout their adult lives. Her love of fashion and shopping developed at a young age, with a little help from her great-grandmother who taught her how to use a credit card in elementary school. As she grew older, her beauty only grew; not just her striking outward appearance with her long flowing locks, but also her authentic love for others.
Elizabeth attended The Kinkaid School, as a “Lifer.” She made lifelong friends there over the years. It is also where her love of art, photography, and the French language blossomed. She spent her summers having the time of her life in the Texas heat at Camp Longhorn, where she was also a counselor for several years. She became versed in horseback riding, like her grandmother. After high school, she went onto The University of Texas at Austin, where she excelled at her studies, once she decided pre-med was not for her. She was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma fraternity, joining her cousin who was already there. She loved living in Austin, going to the lake, and being with friends.
After graduation, she moved back to Houston to attend South Texas College of Law. It is there that she met the love of her life, Alexander Grier Dwyer, Sr. She was employed in the litigation section at Bailey Perrin Bailey LLP, where she enjoyed writing briefs and the comradery of her colleagues, until 2015 when her illness motivated her to focus exclusively on family and serving others.
The relationship between Elizabeth and Alexander was full of love, bursting with adoration, and infectious to those around them. He was her “Princey” and she his “Princess.” They married on the 24th of January 2009, to the tune of “November Rain,” and began a love story to be envied.
They finally began their family in 2013, with the arrival of their first-born, Alexander Grier Dwyer, Jr. In 2014, Lila Elizabeth Dwyer arrived. In 2016, the twins, Juliet Estelle Dwyer and Willoughby “Liam” Lusk Dwyer arrived, completing the big family she always wanted. Being a mother was Elizabeth’s greatest joy. She adored her children and spent every waking moment she could with them despite any illnessrelated pain, most recently being slung around the gym on a scooter in her daughter’s make-shift barrel race during Rodeo Day. She never missed a school program, sporting event, or a birthday. She always made their family celebrations over-the-top because her love for her family was so deep. She treated her niece and nephew, Henry and Caroline as her own, as if she didn’t have enough children in her house already.
Elizabeth cherished her family trips including frequent trips with her sister and brother-in-law to Galveston, where dance parties and karaoke were in abundance. Her favorite adventures were in Aspen skiing with the children and enjoying summers with the Dwyer family; her perfect summer day entailed family bike trips to the East of Aspen Bridge for a cold swim in the Roaring Fork, before biking West to Woody Creek for lunch, and ultimately riding out the summer afternoon in the shade at John Denver Sanctuary or No Problem Park, while the children played in the river. She also loved the sand, sun and pools in Cabo, most recently taking the children during Thanksgiving break. And, before that, it was Las Vegas with the kids for a Journey Concert (Jr.’s favorite rock-n-roll band), Beatles Love, fine dining, and hours poolside with the family.
Elizabeth was a Christian Soldier, waging war on her illness for 13 years, never complaining. She fought on, as always. Despite her small frame, she faced it with more strength than most could muster. There was no sign of her slowing down, until the sudden and unexpected turn in the last weeks of her life. Her illness was always met with the same resolve and determination one would expect from Elizabeth, rallying back multiple times in her final weeks. Her purposeful life and her will to fight for it was rooted in her faith in the Lord, with the help and devotion of her beloved husband, Alexander. Whether they were taking cover in a foxhole or mounting an assault to get her back home, together, side by side, they called on God for strength and courage. Ultimately, it was too much, even for God’s prayerful warrior. Elizabeth has been an inspiration to so many and her reliance on the Lord is one of the lasting gifts her sweet mother gave her.
Elizabeth was a member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church since birth, serving most recently as the Outreach Chair for the ECW, as well as on the Stewardship Committee. She served on the Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Board of Directors and The Children’s Fund Board of Directors; the South Texas College of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors, as the Vice President for Admissions, and was a member of the Board’s Executive Committee and its Scholarship and Nominating Committees. She was a member of the Houston Country Club, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae Association, the Texas State Bar, and the Junior League of Houston. She was an Ambassador of the Hope and Healing Center and Institute. She was a supporter of Recipe for
Success, the Menil Contemporaries, the Houston Ballet Foundation, and countless other organizations.
Elizabeth is preceded in death by her mother, Nan Luckett Williams; her maternal grandparents, Evelyn and Henry Luckett; and her paternal grandparents, Dorothy and Willoughby Williams. She leaves behind her loving husband and biggest advocate, Alexander; her precious children, Alexander, Jr., Lila, Juliet, and Liam; her sister and brother-inlaw, Casey and Will Hedges, and their children, Henry and Caroline; her father,
Will Williams, and his wife, Mary; her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Charlene and Bill Dwyer; her sister-in-law, Emily Dwyer; her brother-inlaw, Whitt Dwyer; her aunts and uncles, Marilyn and Peyton Luckett, Liz Williams and Harold Helm, Julie and David Itz, Caroline and Jim Hassell; her cousins and their spouses, Gray and Med Luckett, Lacey and Chris Kruger, Elsa and Darren Chapman, Sarah and David Godwin, Mary Itz, Joseph and Rebecca Hassell; and many other family members and dear friends. To say she will be missed is an understatement. Sweet Ibbie truly fought the good fight.
Arrangements for a memorial service and celebration of her life at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church are pending and will be announced at a later date.
In lieu of customary remembrances, the family requests with gratitude that memorial contributions in Elizabeth’s memory be directed to St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, 717 Sage Rd., Houston, TX, 77056.
Please visit Elizabeth’s online memorial tribute page at GeoHLewis.com where memories and words of comfort and condolence may be shared electronically with her family. There you may also opt to receive updated service information by selecting the “Receive Notifications” icon.