Owen Dinneny Remembered By Long Valley Family, Friends

LONG VALLEY, NJ — A Long Valley resident for more than three decades is being remembered for his time in the community, the times he spent with family and friends and the joys that he celebrated each and every day of his life.

A celebration of the life of Owen Dinneny, 68, who passed away this last Sunday, July 11 after battling cancer for more than five years, is planned to start this Friday, July 16 at Becker Funeral Home on 219 Kinderkamack Road in Westwood, with visitation for family and friends from 2 to 4 p.m. and then again from 6 to 9 p.m.

A mass to further celebrate him will be at St. John the Baptist R.C. Church on 69 Valley Street in Hillsdale from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Saturday. The interment will follow at George Washington Memorial Park on Paramus and Century Roads in Paramus.

Dinneny was born on Dec. 7, 1952 in New York City to Irish immigrants, John and Annie Dinneny, with his heritage a part of his life. One of 10 children, he was an altar boy at the church where his celebration of life will be and was involved in baseball and wrestling while in high school and growing up in Hillsdale.

He attended college at SUNY Maritime College and was a merchant marine, then finished his degree at Rutgers University in Civil Engineering. He earned his MBA at Fairleigh Dickinson University and was a civil engineer first in his career with ITT.

He also worked in the pharmaceutical industry for Rhone-Poulenc and Merck & Co, where he was the acting Vice President of Engineering, at the conclusion of his career.

He and his wife Diane - who he married in 1983 - moved to Long Valley with daughters Kate Lyn and Megan after having lived in both Paramus and Pompton Lakes.

While in Long Valley, the couple was part of the Long Valley Newcomers Club between 1991 and 1995, daughter Megan said, as well as members of Long Valley Presbyterian Church.

"Dad coached recreational softball at Rock Spring Park for both my sister and I for many years,” Megan Dinneny said. “He also enjoyed riding his bike on the Columbia Trail whenever he could.”

Memorial contributions in his name are appreciated to the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack.

See Owen Dinneny’s full obituary here.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.