Cathleen Dwyer Dawson, age 78, of Lake Holiday, Cross Junction, VA passed away on October 21, 2013. Born June 13, 1935 in Lucketts, VA to Daisy Mae Dwyer and John Gault Dwyer. She lived her early childhood years at Riverside Farm in Lucketts, VA until her parents moved to Purcellville, VA in 1949.

In 1954 she married Thomas Franklin Dawson in St. John the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in Leesburg, VA and they made their home in Falls Church, VA

In 1953 she was employed by the AFL-CIO's Committee on Political Education in Washington, DC until 1956. She was then unemployed until 1975 when she was employed by the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, DC. She retired from the federal government in 1995 where she had worked on the Commissioner's staff for eight years.

She is survived by her husband of 59 years, Thomas Franklin Dawson of Lake Holiday, VA; one daughter, Teresa Ann Bonneville of Ijamsville, MD; four grandchildren Candice Nicole Bonneville, Courtney Brooke Bonneville, Brett Cameron Bonneville, and Thomas Franklin Dawson, III; 2 sisters, Helen Elizabeth Stickman of Purcellville, VA and Eileen Cecilia Niemeyer of Zephyrhills, FL. She is predeceased by her son Thomas Franklin Dawson, Jr.; her brother Maurice Joseph Dwyer and two sisters, Georgia Marie Koger and Mary Virginia Donohoe.

Family will receive friends on Friday, October 25, 2013 between 6:00 pm and 8:00 pm at the Colonial Funeral Home, 201 Edwards Ferry Rd NE, Leesburg, VA 20176. A memorial service will be held at Colonial Funeral Home on Saturday, October 26, 2013 starting at 1:00 pm with interment in Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.