Obituary of Gerard Sweeney

Gerard Sweeney, a member of the Chosin Few, passed away after a long illness at the E.N. Rogers VA Hospital in Bedford on Wednesday evening, April 17, 2013. He was 82 years of age. Gerard was the beloved husband of Ruth (Desmond) Sweeney, with whom he shared over 55 years of marriage. Born in Arlington and raised in Burlington, he was the son of the late Maurice and Mary (Ford) Sweeney. As a young man growing up in the Winnmere section of Burlington, Mr. Sweeney work on Crawford Farm and as a teenager he built his own bicycle on which he won several awards participating in races on the east coast. He attended St. Charles grammar school and Burlington High school. As member of the class of 1949, he left school during his junior year to serve his country by enlisting in the United States Marine Corps at the age of 17. A combat veteran of the Korean War, Mr. Sweeney was assigned to the Fifth Marine Regiment as part of the First Provisional Marine Brigade and later the First Marine Division. At the outbreak of hostilities, his Regiment was sent to Korea. During the war, Mr. Sweeney participated in many historical campaigns including the Pusan Perimeter, the Inchon Landing and was a survivor of the epic battle at the Chosin Reservoir. After 4 years of service and attaining the rank of Sgt. he was honorably discharged in 1952. Mr. Sweeney was a Disabled Veteran from injuries he sustained while serving at the Chosin Reservoir. Shortly after his discharge from the Marine Corps, Mr. Sweeney went to work for H.P. Hood & Sons. He worked at the Charlestown dairy facility for over 43 years. His first 19 years were spent driving tractor trailers throughout New England, travel that Gerard thoroughly enjoyed as he loved to see the country side. The remainder of his years at Hood was spent working in the maintenance department sanitizing the processing machines. In 1957 he married his adored wife Ruth and settled in Woburn. Together they would raise their six children in a house that Gerard himself built for them. Gerard was devote catholic who was very proud of his Irish heritage and in recent years had obtained his dual citizenship with Ireland. He enjoyed reading, being outdoors and gardening had a tremendous appreciation for the work of Norman Rockwell and was a fan of and enjoyed watching the Red Sox and Patriots. In June of 2010, after 61 years, Mr. Sweeney was awarded his high school diploma from the Town of Burlington at a special ceremony attended by several dignitaries and a Marine honor guard at the E.N. Rogers Veterans Hospital. In addition to being awarded his diploma, Gerard was named &quote;Veteran of the Month&quote; and given a citation by then Massachusetts State Treasurer Timothy Cahill. He was a member of the Hood Quarter Century Club, the Chosin Few, the Chosin Few New England Chapter, Life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a former member of the Knights of Columbus. In addition to his wife Ruth, Gerard is survived by his loving children; Patricia Sweeney of Bradford & her fiancé Chris Reil, Gerard Sweeney, Jr. of Woburn & his companion Shelley Sutter, Kathleen Casey & her husband Fred of Woburn, Carol Woloski & her husband John of Woburn, Karen Strack & her husband Phil of N.Reading, and Sean Sweeney & his wife Timberly of Tewksbury; Twelve grandchildren: Kyleen, Brian, Kevin and Corey Rose Casey; Melissa, Jennifer and Tyler Woloski; Kellianne, Kyle, Ryan, Antoria and Timothy Sweeney; a sister, Margaret Bowles of Billerica and several generations of nieces and nephews. He was also the brother of the late Loretta Enos, Leo, Howard, Francis, James, and Eveleen Sweeney. Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (exit 34 off Rt. 128/95, Woburn side) on Monday, April 22 at 9 a.m. Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Charles Church, 280 Main St., Woburn at 10 a.m. Visiting hours Sunday from 3-6 p.m. Interment with Military Honors in Woodbrook Cemetery, Woburn. Korean War U.S. Marine Corp. Veteran and Survivor of the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. In Lieu of flowers, memorials in Gerard’s name may be made to Cenacle Sisters, 310 Cenacle Rd, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-0430 or www.cenaclesisters.org/ronkonkoma.