Obituary: Norman E. Sweeney, 88

The following obituary was provided by Fagan-Quinn Funeral Home.

Norman E. Sweeney (USN, RET) of North Kingstown passed away on Sept. 28 at West View Health Care Center. He was 88 years old.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Barbara (Gravel) Sweeney. Born in Haverhill, MA, he was the son of the late Richard and Anna (Breault) Sweeney. He leaves behind his daughters; Cheryl (Nile) Luedtke and Gail (David) Wilson of Knoxville, TN, Colleen Dyer and Norma Sweeney, both of North Kingstown. He is also the grandfather of Seth Luedtke, Jennifer (Jason) Luedtke-Kennedy and Caitlyn (Josh) Luedtke-Elam. He is survived by his sister-in-law, Shirley Sweeney of Haverhill, MA. He was the father-in-law of the late Steven Dyer and the brother of the late William, John and Albert Sweeney. 

He was much loved and will be greatly missed by his caregiver, Katie Baker, CNA. The family wishes to express their gratitude to the staff of West View Health Care Center and Odyssey Hospice for their care and compassion.

Mr. Sweeney spent 26 years in the US Navy retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. He served during WWII, Korea and Vietnam. He was an Aviation Machinist Mate II class aboard the USS Wasp, USS Oriskany, USS Lake Champlain and the USS Leyte. Norm flew missions in the PBY Martin Mariner aircraft during WWII. He also served in VS-32 and HS-11 at his last duty station Quonset Point. He was a member of the Martin Mariner Assoc. and a former member of the Fleet Reserve Association, Branch 42. 

Several highlights of his career were: in 1961, Chief Sweeney and his air crew were in charge of Air Force One when President John F. Kennedy visited Quonset and served on the President's honor guard upon his arrival. During his career as a helicopter crew Chief on the USS Lake Champlain, he helped to recover several of NASA's space capsules when the astronauts "splashed down" during the Mercury and Gemini missions. One of those missions was the sub- orbital flight of Alan Shepard's Freedom 7 capsule. 

He said many times during his life that "serving his country was the best choice he ever made." He will be remembered for his Irish wit and poetry, singing, dancing and his love of family and country.

His funeral will be held Saturday, Oct. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at Fagan-Quinn Funeral Home, 825 Boston Neck Road, North Kingstown, followed by a Committal Service with Military Honors in the RI Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter.

Visiting hours Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org or a charity of your choice.