Patrick (Rick) Dacey died on June 18th, 2022 at age 95. He was born Patrick Joseph to Daniel and Marie ( nee Cox) Dacey in Detroit Michigan on July 26th, 1926. He celebrated over 71 years of marriage with his wife, Louise (nee Clune). He was preceded in death by his wife, Louise, their daughters, Diane Marie (1951) and Mary Louise (1954), his parents, his eldest brother, Daniel, his youngest brother, William, and his wife Mary Lou Dacey, and brother-in-law Charles Diebel. He is survived by his siblings: Margaret (Charles) Diebel, and sister-in-law Judy Dacey, former sister-in-law Marie (Dolly) Dacey, and Patrick and Louise’s children; Michael J Dacey, Patricia A (William) Fodor, David J (Cynthia) Dacey, and Kathleen M (Allen Parker) Dacey, grandchildren Carrie Fodor, Ryan Dacey, Dianna (Aaron) Rietman, Katy (Dustin) Foster, and great-grandchildren Ayla and Brayden Foster, and Leelynn Rietman. He was a veteran of the Navy, serving during WWII. The family intends to have his remains cremated, combined with those of Louise, and interred at Calvary Cemetery in Cheboygan in the James Clune family plot. A celebration of life will be scheduled at a future date in Cheboygan at the time of the burial.
Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh- George Bernard Shaw Patrick grew up in the southeast of Detroit, son of Daniel and Marie Dacey on 16400 Alma, just west of now Grosse Pointe Woods. He recalled biking over to Belle Isle and knowing Detroit “like the back of his hand”. When Rick was a teen, his step-grandfather, William O’Brien, fell ill, and Patrick’s family, sans his father, moved to the O’Brien property, covering 40 acres on the east side of Cheboygan to help in his recovery, first at a rental on S O B Street (South B) then at the William O’Brien’s own home, then occupied by the Perry family. He met his best friend of over 70 years, Jack Perry, (whose mother Rose was Bill O’Brien’s daughter) Jack and Rick spent many hours at Joe Mel’s Bay off the Cheboygan River, behind the present-day fairgrounds, and at the park in O’Brien’s Grove (Rubber Gulch), where the Methodist church now stands. During the pre-war boom in 1943, the family returned to Detroit, minus Patrick who stayed alone at the Cleveland Avenue Avenue home. Purportedly a star high school athlete, he sold tickets before the game, popcorn at halftime, and played in the band after the games. William O’Brien’s (who led the Cheboygan city band) talented step-kids, Patrick and his sister, Marge, were part of a 5 piece jazz band; the Jazz Kids, during their high school years. The group was later renamed the Jive Bombers, where he may have played his first hemidemisemiquaver.
On his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Navy in Chicago. He was stationed in Virginia, Brownsville, and New Orleans, but the Axis Powers decided between Dacey and Harry Truman’s atomic bomb, they would surrender. After the war, he returned to Detroit, recovering from his mysterious
(and non-existent) war wounds, that often shifted legs.
He worked at a men’s clothing store there until his cousin Danny O’Brien convinced him to attend a New Year’s Eve party held at Joyce Schmidt’s home back in Cheboygan, where he could pursue his favorite redhead, Louise. He attempted to get a pilot’s license, once swooping a plane over her house and nearly becoming the first kamikaze pilot in peacetime. Somehow, he succeeded in his quest, for they were married on September 18th, 1948 at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. They lived with her parents (Mack & Cecile Clune) on the corner of Pine and Huron, across from Thompson’s Gym, which was behind the infamous Buerger Pool Hall, until 1955, when he built their home at 515 Cleveland Avenue adjacent to the O’Brien’s home.
He worked various jobs, including dry cleaners, retreading tires, and on the car ferry, the Vacationland, in Mackinaw City until the Mighty Mackinac Bridge was completed in November 1957. He then began work for Amoco (later BP), out of Gary, Indiana, where he worked his way up to become the youngest chief engineer on the Great Lakes, on the oil tanker Amoco Illinois. He retired after 25 years, at age 57 in 1983, whereupon he and his bride wintered in Leesburg, Florida. He terrorized the golf courses, held numerous happy hours, often with the “delightful intrusion”, and retold all his jokes to all their friends at the Molakai mobile home park. In 2010, they sold both properties, and moved to Holland, Michigan, to be close to his family, as Louise’s dementia began to require additional care. In his late 80s, his health too began to deteriorate, and he simply offered that “he was doing fine until he moved close to his kids.” Two years after Louise’s death, at age 95, he moved into assisted living where he was provided great care by the staff at Appledorn North/South in Holland, until his own demise.
The World’s foremost authority is remembered for being the first person to use the name “Rick”, winning the war, his favorite jokes, being an M.D. (Manhattan drinker), the world’s best cribbage player, solving crosswords including his sister’s own creations, and fixing or building everything. He was part of some vicious ping pong battles in the Dacey basement. He loved listening to or trying to accompany with his clarinet, his jazz music, which grew louder over the years. His fishing and hunting skills were suspect, although he caged a mongoose with the likely help of Jack Niesen. Jack Perry’s and Rick’s success with hunting “big game” were sorely tested by the infamous Snookie. They both claimed legendary slingshot skills in the nearby woods.
Many bars in ports on the Great Lakes closed when he retired. He often played devil’s advocate, and questioned much, which created numerous “lively” discussions, especially with the “staff” of St Charles Borremeo Catholic Church, where his wife worked for many years. He took up flying model airplanes at 87 years of age. He encouraged laughter and learning. He had especially good times with his neighbors, Jack Perry, Jack Niesen, Jim LaHaie, and friends, Jim Bourrie, Harry Finn, Harry Clark, Chuck Buerger, the Eustice brothers, Bob Springer, and many others. He did what he had to do to provide for his family and their education, and loved Louise, making her happy most of the time, and visiting her almost every day as she battled dementia in the latter stages of her life. He once told his son, “In the end, there is only family and friends.”
Patrick will be cremated and interred with his wife’s remains in Cheboygan at a date to be determined. His memories live on…Boogedy, boogedy, boon. Remember him by telling a Rick Dacey story to family or friends.
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