Brian Peter Dwyer, 80, of Dexter, Oregon

Brian Dwyer passed away peacefully at home in Pleasant Hill, Oregon on August 14, 2026.

Brian was born in 1946 in Valley City, North Dakota to Frank and Grace (Pederson) Dwyer. He graduated from high school and enrolled in college briefly before “running away” to work with the Forest Service. He spent several years in northern Idaho before finding his way to Moscow, where he married Katie Kiblen in 1968, and earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the University of Idaho. He taught at Newberg High School and Lane Community College before becoming a Service Trainer specializing in truck engines and power generation at Caterpillar, Inc.—the role he kept for over 30 years until he retired.

Work took Brian and his family to Alaska, where he hiked the mountains, and Arizona, where he hiked the canyons, before bringing him back to Oregon. He fell in love with a property in Dexter, where he settled and built Five Acre Wood, which he shared with Katie and an assortment of goats, chickens, dogs, and cats.

Brian was first and foremost an educator. Also, a musician, he enjoyed playing tuba with the Oregon Tuba Association and the Springfield Community Band. He would happily lend a helping hand with any project—from house renovation and machine repair to firewood expeditions.

Health concerns required him to leave Five Acre Wood in 2026. Looking over the items arranged for his estate sale, he was surprised by the range of hobbies and social groups he'd been part of over his life but was pleased that everything he had done had an element of bringing people together. Anyone who knew him knew what a sweet, generous man he was. The world was a little brighter because of how he lived in it and how many lives he touched.

Brian was preceded in death by his wife Katie and younger brother Paul. He is survived by his siblings: Eunice, Neil, and Iris; children Nathan of Portland, Oregon, Melissa of Springfield, Oregon, and Aaron of Irvine, California; and his three grandchildren.