Jeremiah "Jerry" Anthony Dineen's Obituary
We share the sad news of the passing of Jeremiah (Jerry) Anthony Dineen at the age of 93 in St. Petersburg, FL on Saturday, October 1, 2022. He died peacefully of natural causes while in hospice care. Jerry is survived by his four children: Ed Dineen (Kay), Joan Lamon (Neil Cohn), Kevin Dineen (Peggy) and Patricia Dineen (Julie Crotty); his eight grandchildren: Sean, Brian and Megan Dineen; Ryan and Brandon Lamon; Troy Dineen; and Angelina and Jasmin Crotty; his six great grandchildren: Olivia and Sebastian Dineen, Sophia, Eddie and Victoria Dineen and Marco Ferry; and his siblings Bridie Baldwin, Sean Dineen and Vincent Dinneen; along with many other extended family and friends. Jerry loved his family more than anything in the world and their love for him was equally strong.
Jerry was born on July 4, 1929 in Ballyraggett, Kilkenny County in the Republic of Ireland as the second of six children to John Dinneen and Johanna O’Shea Dinneen. Bridie was Jerry’s older sister and he had four younger brothers, Sean, Michael, Patrick and Vincent. Jerry had a strong Spirit and lived life his way, surrounded by laughter and music, often with him singing “My Way” or “The Most Beautiful Girl in the World” with a voice that quieted any room as soon as he started singing. He’d often cap off the evening playing his favorite tunes on the harmonica. He lived life with integrity and independence in his beautiful St. Pete’s Beach condo that he so loved.
Jerry’s father was in the Irish Guard and Jerry’s childhood home in Tramore, Ireland was on a cliff overlooking a bay with a view of ships and sailboats. Throughout his life, he loved being near the ocean and retired to his condo with water views where he could watch the sailboats go by. He lived through WWII as a youth and recalled seeing German planes flying overhead. When he was 17 years old, he immigrated to New York City in the U.S. where he first met Theresa (Tess) Dorney. Tess and Jerry fell in love and married at the Church of St. Francis de Sales on January 27, 1951.
Soon after their wedding, Jerry served on the front lines of the Korean War with K Company 9th Infantry 2nd Division Regent for 11 months as an infantry man, sergeant and squad leader, where his strong Spirit served him well. At 5’7” with bright blue eyes, his determination shined through. It was bitter cold in his post on Old Baldy. Some of his friends didn’t make it, and in one battle, an explosive went off near him, earning him a Purple Heart and leaving him with a shrapnel wound on his forehead and permanent hearing loss in one ear.
He returned home safely to Tess and became a U.S. citizen on July 12, 1954. They raised their four children in Queens Village, New York and Jerry worked as a telephone installer for MA Bell in New York City. As a young adult, Jerry enjoyed playing in a local soccer league and he loved watching soccer, hockey and tennis throughout his life. Jerry was incredibly proud of his family and beamed when talking about any of his children, their spouses, his grandchildren and great grandchildren.
He and Tess moved to Long Island and then to St. Petersburg, FL after Jerry retired in the early 1990s. Tess succumbed to Parkinson’s Disease in October 2001 and Jerry, while remaining loyal and grateful to Tess for their beautiful family and the life they created together, continued on for another 21 years. Jerry remained active, playing doubles tennis with his friends even through his 80s and enjoying long walks around his neighborhood. To the sometime dismay of his family, Jerry also enjoyed flying ultralight planes into his 80s. He loved living in Florida and enjoyed going to early bird dinners with his friends at Leverocks, the Oyster Shucker and PJs, including his perfect Rob Roys.
Jerry showed us all how to live fully and focus on what’s important in life – cherishing and enjoying the people and activities you love. We envision him in Heaven now with Tess, along with his other family, buddies and many friends from over the years enjoying endless laughter, love, joy and music – with Jerry holding court singing “My Way” and playing his harmonica while overlooking a beautiful bay.
A memorial service is being held Saturday, October 29th, 2022, at 2:00 pm at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5750 49th Street N., St. Petersburg, Florida 33709, with inurnment to take place directly after.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Jeremiah Dineen’s name at woundedwarriorproject.org or heros.vfw.org.
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