John J. Denehy, Jr., 75, of Bristol, Conn., and Vero Beach, passed away after a brief illness April 30, 2010, at Bristol Hospital.
He was born on June 13, 1934, in Bristol, a son of the late John J. and Mary Elizabeth (Lincoln) Denehy, Sr. Jack served with the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War and then joined the military reserves.
He served with the Connecticut Air National Guard and eventually retired from the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve as a Chief Petty Officer.
He founded the Memorial Military Museum, Inc., as a Bicentennial project to pay tribute to the veterans of the city of Bristol and to preserve their stories.
He was a retired Bristol school teacher and was an active member of the Bristol Choral Society, the Bristol Historical Society, the St. Ann’s Choir, the American Legion Post #2 and the Korean War Veterans Association.
He is survived by his wife Carol (Dabkowski) Denehy of Bristol; his children, Jacqueline and her husband John Vigue of Bristol, Timothy and his wife Barbara Denehy of Somers, and Amy and her husband Carl Paradis of Bristol; his grandchildren, Lindsay Vigue, Jamie Vigue, Sarah Zysek, Alexis Zysek, Mary Denehy, Jack Denehy and Joel Patterson, Jr.; his brother Peter Denehy of Columbus, Ohio; his sister Patricia Cadorette of Plainville and many nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, donations in Jack’s memory may be made to: Memorial Military Museum, Inc. PO Box 1231, Bristol, CT 06010. For online tributes, please visit: wwww.obrien- funeralhome.com