Deedy.com Blog

Justin F. Deedy, Sr.

Justin Francis Deedy, Sr. of Duluth, Georgia died peacefully at home December 9, 2013, surrounded by his loving family.  Born in Worcester, Massachusetts March 14, 1932, to the late John G. Deedy, Sr. and Grace McDonough Deedy, he graduated from St. John’s High School and The College of the Holy Cross.  In Worcester he met the love of his life, Barbara Grant, and they married in 1954. He served two years in the Army as they started their lives together. They relocated to Atlanta in 1970 where they raised their family. Together, Justin and Barbara had eight children.  Mr. Deedy enjoyed a long career in the financial services industry.  He retired from A.G. Edwards & Sons as an investment broker in 2005 with the friendship and respect of many co-workers and long-time clients. Mr. Deedy’s pride and joy was the large, loving family he leaves behind.  He will be remembered fondly for his love of sports, reading and history, his studious and interested mind, and his sweet and gentle nature.  He devoted his time not only to his own work and interests, but also to the interests of his family and his faith. He supported the growth of the Dynamo Swim Club as a charter member when it built its first pool, and he spent many hours poolside and on the road travelling with his children to swim meets.  He treasured the annual summer beach vacations he spent with children and grandchildren. He had a special love for Georgia Tech athletics and rarely missed a football or basketball game.  Mr. Deedy was a devout Catholic and relied upon his faith as he, admirably, uncomplaining and with dignity, battled Parkinson’s for fifteen years, always with a smile upon his face.  His brothers, John G. Deedy, Jr. and Edward T. Deedy, predeceased him.  He is survived by Barbara,  his wife of fifty-nine years, his brother Thomas Deedy of Woodstock, VT and his children and their spouses; Justin, Jr. and Linda Deedy of Marietta, GA; Shaun and Sherry Deedy of Sugar Hill, GA; Christopher and Michele Deedy of Duluth, GA; Stephen and Angel Deedy of Marietta, GA;  Neil and Karen Deedy of Suwanee, GA; Paula and Patrick Wathen of Peachtree Corners, GA; Martha and David Turner of Peachtree Corners, GA; and Dr. Matthew and Judith Deedy of Mission Hills, KS.  He is also survived by twenty-six grandchildren and one great grandchild.  He will be dearly missed. 

Funeral Program (PDF file) 

Celtic Farewell (Irish Blessing)

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

The rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

 

Labels: Deedy

Once again some relatives of mine are getting a few nanoseconds of Hollywood fame. This time it is three of my siblings. Here is the original photo I submitted to a local set designer. He was looking for images to place on the set of a movie that filmed last year in my fair city of Boston. This photo was taken at my eldest sister Kerin's wedding and pictured are my brothers Conal and Tom Deedy and my sister Sue Ellen Briggs.

Now let's see if you can spot them again in the movie:





Yes, there they are, pinned on the bulletin board in the kitchen of the Charlestown apartment of Ben Affleck in the movie The Town. If you want to spot them yourself, the scene is about 45 minutes into the movie, right after the main characters are seen in an outdoor restaurant. The action then continues back at the apartment where an argument breaks out. Watch the walls instead of the actors and you can't miss catching glimpses of the Deedy co-stars!

- The Town

Labels: Deedy

I have mentioned before that some old family photos of my great grandfather, Srgt. Maurice Sullivan, in his police uniform made it into the background set of the film Edge of Darkness.

The movie became available this week on DVD and I have finally found some time to try to do some screen captures to show the location of the old family photos. They are all displayed on the set in the hallway of a police station. The scene takes place about 15 minutes into the film. As the actors walk down the hallway you can see the black framed photos. Here is a better view of them from the prop sale.

Unfortunately, most of the time the bodies of the actors block the photos on the wall. If you click on these screen captures you can make out the frames lined up along the wood paneled wall.

I had a hard time capturing the frames, but in this last photo you can just make out that the actor (the one who is not Mel Gibson) has the "shaking hands" photo behind him.

So there you have it - if you blink you might miss it, but Srgt. Maurice Sullivan did make it into a Hollywood movie 60 some-odd years after his death...

Edge of Darkness

Labels: Sullivan

In my great aunt Jane Austin Sullivan's photo album are 5 photos taken in May 1919 at the Wesson Maternity Ward. Jane graduated from the Massachusetts General Hospital nursing program in 1919. I assume these photos were taken in her last month of training before graduation. I am not sure how common it is to have working hospital images from 1919 - this first images is not identified, but it appears to be a doctor very much at work - you can make out his bloody gloves and some sort of clamp. Perhaps he just completed a birth?

The next image is marked Wesson Maternity Hospital Springfield, MA, baby Salkins, May 1919. This photo shows my great aunt Jane washing a newborn in a basin. In 1919 the Massachusetts medical community was overwhelmed with the influenza epidemic. Perhaps that is why she is in Springfield as a Massachusetts General Hospital nursing student.

Here is Jane again, this time weighing a newborn named Jackie Wood. I love how she has named each of the infants. Working in the maternity ward must have been a fun period in her training. She was looking forward to it enough to remember to bring a camera to work!

This photo is of nurse Marie Powers again with infant Jackie Woods. She is also weighing the infant and now we can see the weighing table. It has a wicker cradle with the weighing dial below. The whole apparatus is balanced on top of a small table. It appears that the nurses are working in an area with laundry hanging behind and around them. It seems strange to be mixing the maternity ward with the laundry room - but perhaps there is a valid reason for it.

The last image is once again of great aunt Jane, this time she is standing behind a table with five infants lined in front of her. It looks like it was a busy day in May 1919 at the Wesson Maternity Hospital!

Labels: Sullivan

Recently, a Sullivan cousin (Mary Elizabeth Sullivan Dreger) sent me a scan of an old photo that has been in her family for years. The photo is of Mary's grandfather (my great-grandfather) patrolman Maurice Sullivan. Standing next to him, Mary had been told, is the Mayor of Boston - James Michael Curley.

Looking at the photo, I assume it was taken during Curley's first term as mayor. But the man in this photo looks too old and I can't find any images of James Michael Curley with a mustache. Could this instead be a photo of a different Boston Mayor - George Albee Hibbard (served from 1908 - 1910)?

Digging into the latest box of Sullivan family photos my parents dropped off at my house, I found this image which has marked on the back:

Brother Maurice going off to war. Hand shake by Mayor James Michael Curley. - Helen S. Sullivan

This photo does indeed look like James Michael Curley from his first term (1914 - 1918).

Unfortunately this second photo is not marked with the date. But I did find Maurice A. Sullivan's WWI draft card from 1917. So this photo was taken sometime in 1917 or 1918.

So what do you think? Is the first photo Mayor Curley? To be fair, he is squinting into the sun, which could be making him look older than he should be. Any other guesses on who the man in the first photo could be?

- Boston Globe May 30, 1910 article about death of Ex-Mayor George Albee Hibbard

Labels: Sullivan

Dianne Dowd sent along another photo from her collection today. The photo appears to be from the 1890's and pictured may be Bartholomew McDonough, Michael Brennan, and Martin McDonough. Seated in front of the three men are likely their wives - Margaret Fay, Bridget McDonough, and Maria Simmonds.

While the photo is not marked, Dianne made the identification after looking at other known photos. I have posted one of Dianne & Tom Dowd's photos of Bartholomew and the shorter man in this photo does resemble him.

Thank you again Dianne & Tom for sharing another great old photo!

Labels: Dowd_Collection, McDonough

My Great-uncle Lawrence T. Sullivan was serving on a merchant marine vessel in 1942 when it was struck by a German U-boat and he was lost at sea. In 1945 a Liberty ship was dedicated in his honor. For the dedication his Mother, surviving 8 siblings and their families and friends gathered for the ceremony. The picture below (click to view larger) was taken at the shipyard and I have numbered the group (36 people) and with the help of various family members managed to put names next to most of the numbers.

I am hoping someone visiting the blog might be able to help fill-in the missing names (or provide corrections if needed) and finish identifying everyone in the photo.For those curious about the fate of the Liberty ship named after Lawrence T. Sullivan - it was scraped in 1971 - see image below for its history (click to view larger).

Labels: Sullivan