Penny Walzel Dwyer

November 8, 1963 - April 7, 2024

Penny Walzel Dwyer, beloved by all who knew her, died peacefully at her home in Englewood on April 7 from an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. She was 60.  

Penny was a brilliant person, an enormously talented performer and, above all else, a devoted mother to her two children.

She was born to Pat and Jim Walzel on Nov. 8, 1963, in McAllen, Texas. She grew up in Houston, graduating in 1982 from Westbury High School and in 1986 from Trinity University with a degree in Engineering Science. 

Penny began her career as an actor in Houston performing for Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS), The Alley Theatre, Houston Theatre and Main Street Theatre, among others. She moved to Denver in 1992 and continued her acting career at Theatre on Broadway, the Arvada Center, Garner-Galleria Theatre, Theatre Group and Country Dinner Playhouse.  

Penny met Paul Dwyer onstage and the couple married in 2001. They are the proud parents of James (21) and Rebecca (17) Dwyer. 

Penny dedicated much of her life to service and was considered a “volunteer extraordinaire” for her exhaustive work in the community. She was named the Campus Middle School Volunteer of the Year in 2017-18. At Hope United Methodist Church, she and others ran a PB&J Program for area homeless, among other service activities. 

Penny served on numerous charitable boards, including a five-year stint with the Denver Actors Fund from 2015-20. She also was a board member for Hope United Methodist Church, Cottonwood Creek Elementary School, Campus Middle School, Cherry Creek High School Band Parents Association, and the Cherry Creek Vista Vikings Swim Team.

Penny was an avid walker and hiker, and she never missed her children's school activities. Her daughter considered Penny to be her best friend. Her son calls her “the most beautiful, talented, caring, and strongest person” he could ever hope for in a mother. 

Penny will always be remembered for her kindness and beautiful smile. On the night before her death, she was visited by her parents. Penny told her husband, ‘’Today was a great day!”

She is survived by her husband, Paul; children, her parents, sister, Sunday Walzel Coffman; and her husband, Robert; aunts, and uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews and her beloved dog, Daisy. 

A celebration of life will be held at 3 p.m. Friday, April 26, at Hope United Methodist Church. For those unable to attend in person, a live-streaming link will be available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52TYnt3wVsI

At a future date an interment will occur at the columbarium of St. Paul's Methodist Church, Houston, TX.  

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Penny’s memory to the Denver Actors Fund at P.O. Box 11182, Denver, CO, 80211, or online at coloradogives.org.