Laurie Dwire
Laurie Dwire was born in Billings Montana in 1953, but shortly after her birth, her parents moved her family to an LA suburb. Dwire grew up there as the third oldest in a family with nine children. Looking back, she realizes she had a rough childhood due to her parents’ severe alcoholism. Her home lacked organization and structure, but the Irish Catholic Church which the family regularly attended, provided some of that for the children.
At the age of seventeen, tragedy struck Dwire’s family when her mother died, and then again when her father died four years later. After her step-mother had a breakdown, Dwire took on some of the responsibility of taking care of her younger siblings by dropping out of college and moving back home. As soon as her younger siblings were old enough, they moved out of their step-mother’s house and went to live with one of her elder siblings in Santa Barbara. Dwire then went back to school studying theater arts in Santa Barbara and later at Long Beach State. She would eventually receive her Bachelor’s in Dramatic Arts from University of California, Santa Barbara.
All throughout and after college, Dwire worked in food service as either a waitress or hostess to support herself and her family. After a few years, she went back to school and finished a hotel management program which opened doors for her to apply for work in university dining services. After working at the community college in Santa Barbara, she soon got a job at the University of Hawaii teaching students how to manage front house operations. After four years, she moved to the University of Hawaii, Hilo where she remained for a short period.
After deciding to leave Hawaii, Dwire and her husband moved back to the mainland and, after a brief time in California, settled in Corvallis. She currently lives and works at the OSU Marketplace West Dining hall as the Operations Manager. Outside of work, Dwire enjoys acting in theater plays and being politically active.