In Memoriam

Gerald Dennehy

Gerald Dennehy, 86, died suddenly at the Peconic Bay Medical Center on June 6. His wife of fifty years, Margherita (Mori) Dennehy, predeceased him in 1995. He is survived by his second wife, Dorothy (Pape) Dennehy.

Born in Brooklyn as one of four sons of Charles J. and Philomena (Balling) Dennehy, he grew up in Garden City and spent most of his life in New York. After graduating from Garden City High School, he went to MIT and graduated in 1944 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

He married Margherita Mori in 1945. He joined Pan American Airways where he was involved in the final years of operation of the Clipper Ships flights over the North Atlantic. During the Korean War, he served in the US Air Force as an aircraft development officer and was honorably discharged in 1955.

After his discharge from the Air Force, he moved with Margherita and their three young children to Setauket, where he continued to pursue a career in the aviation industry. He worked for a division of Fairchild Aircraft and became director of marketing. In 1964 he joined W. E. Hutton and Co. as an analyst specializing in the aviation industry. He was a general partner from 1969 until the firm closed in 1974. He then joined Brookhaven National Laboratory, where he managed a newly formed energy conservation unit.

After retiring in 1986, he and Margherita, also referred to as "Peggy", moved to Orient, where they became active members of the Oysterponds Historical Society. After Peggy died, he married Dorothy P. Devaney in 1996 and moved to Quogue, where he resided until his death. Through out his retirement he continued to enjoy gardening, his principal hobby. A devoted reader of the New York Times, he closely followed world events until the day of his death.

He survived by a sister, Betty Leyser, of Daphne, Alabama. He leaves three children, Peter N. Dennehy of Barrington, Rhode Island; Deirdre Roettinger of Middletown, Rhode Island; and Nancy Eichacker of Sandy Spring, Maryland. He also leaves seven grandchildren (Johanna S. and Peter M. Dennehy; Alexis J. Roettinger, MD, Katherine P. Gibson, and Walter F. Roettinger; and Nina Q. and Charles H. Eichacker) and one great-grandchild (Sanna Gibson).

He was buried in Orient on June 13 following a graveside ceremony. Any donations in his memory are requested to be made to the Oysterponds Historical Society in Orient, New York.