Joseph A. Sweeney (1911-2001)

SWEENEY

Posted By: Patrick Turner (email)
Date: 2/23/2003 at 09:48:28

Joseph Anthony Sweeney
July 16, 1911 - January 25, 2001

Thursday, February 8, 2001
Neola
In Memory: Joseph Anthony Sweeney
Joseph Anthony Sweeney, a traffic manager for Calvert Distillery in Maryland and an avid golfer died of pneumonia on January 25, 2001. The Charlestown Retirement Community resident was 89 years old.
Mr. Sweeney grew up in Neola, Iowa and was a 1930 graduate of St. Joseph's High School in Neola. He attended Dowling Des Moines Catholic Junior College and graduated from the University of Iowa in 1939 with a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering. He met his future wife, Mary Kelly at the university and they were married in 1941.
After college, Mr. Sweeney was employed by Carnegie U.S. Steel in Chicago. In 1941, he joined Joseph E. Seagram & Sons in Louisville, Kentucky and transferred to the Calvert Distillery in Relay, Maryland in 1946. He retired from Seagrams in 1976. Mr. Sweeney and his wife resided in Relay, Maryland for 50 years and raised seven children before moving to Charlestown in 1999.
Mr. Sweeney was a life member of the Traffic Club of Baltimore and served on it's Board of Governors in 1951 and 1952. He was a member of St. Augustine Catholic Church in Elkridge, Maryland and served as an usher. He was active in many of the activities of the Relay Improvement Association. He loved gardening and was well known in Relay for his manicured lawn and prolific vegetable garden.
An avid golfer, he was known for his competitive attitude and was active in many golf leagues including The Traffic Club League, Seagram League, Diamond Ridge Senior League and Howard County Senior League. He continued to play golf until he was 86, when his health began to fail.
A funeral Mass was held on Tuesday, January 30, 2001 at Our Lady of the Angels Chapel at the Charlestown Retirement Community.
In addition to his wife, Mary, survivors include seven children: Kathleen A. Doughterty of Fulton, Maryland, Judge Dennis M. Sweeney of Ellicott City, Maryland, Daniel J. Sweeney of Indianapolis, Indiana, Paul Sweeney of Rocky Gorge, Maryland, Sharon Keech of Catonsville, Maryland, Charles R. Sweeney of Hanover, Pennsylvania and Maureen Sweeney-Smith. of Catonsville, Maryland. Two children, Joseph and John, predeceased him. Mr. Sweeney had 13 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
He is also survived by one brother, Robert Sweeney of Evergreen, Colorado and a sister, Catherine Dorsey, of Neola, Iowa. A brother, John Sweeney, of Neola, Iowa predeceased him.