OBITUARY: Donald R. Sweeney, M.D.

Donald Raymond Sweeney, M.D., Ph.D., 76, of Naples, Florida, passed away peacefully on Thursday, September 12, 2013 at his home in Acton, Massachusetts. He was born on August 14, 1937 in Medford, Massachusetts to Dorothy and Raymond Sweeney. He is survived by his wife Edith McEvoy.

Also surviving are his sister Donna Verbesey, daughter Ellen Sweeney, and three sons, John, Kenneth, and Michael Sweeney; grandson Connor Sweeney; granddaughters Jillian, Bridget, Valerie, Caroline, Anabella and Grace Sweeney; stepson William J. McEvoy III; daughters-in-law Susan, Janine and Eva Sweeney; his first wife Pamela Sweeney; brother-in-law Robert Verbesey, and several nieces and nephews.

Donald was preceded in death by his mother, Dorothy (Sweeney) Herrman; his father, J. Raymond Sweeney; his stepfather, Raymond Herrman, and his brother, Richard Sweeney. Donald grew up in Arlington, Massachusetts and Floral Park, New York, and attended Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York. He spent his college undergraduate years at College of the Holy Cross, graduating in 1958. He then moved on to Fordham University, where he received a Ph.D. in experimental psychology. Following his time at Fordham, he served as a Captain in the Armed Forces and worked at the Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine. From there, he completed a fellowship at New York University before earning his medical degree at the University of Rochester School of Medicine. He completed his medical internship at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester, New York, and his medical residency in psychiatry at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.

Donald was one of the founders and the clinical director of Fair Oaks Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, which during the 1980s was one of the most modern and prestigious enterprises in the fast-growing industry of private psychiatric hospitals. Fair Oaks was widely known as a center for research and treatment of drug addiction, and Donald became a model for a new generation of psychiatrists as entrepreneurs. He later moved into private practice, before retiring in the 1990s.

An accomplished author, Donald published award-winning material throughout his post-graduate and professional career, including the book Overcoming Insomnia, for which he was praised for his “commonsensical approach” and “genial tone and clear explanations.”

He lived in a variety of places during his professional career, including Watchung, New Jersey; Naples, Florida; Monterey, Massachusetts; and Acton, Massachusetts.

Donald was a voracious reader and a fan of all types of word games, often tearing through a 300-page book, a New York Times crossword puzzle and a few rounds of Words with Friends in a single day. He was also a storyteller extraordinaire, an amateur comedian, and a caring husband, father, grandfather, and friend to many. He was a true “Fighting Irishman,” refusing to let his ailments impact the abundant love and support he provided to his family.

Arrangements under the care of DEE FUNERAL HOME OF CONCORD, Susan M. Dee and Charles W. Dee, Jr., Funeral Directors.

To share a remembrance in the online guest book, Please visit www.deefuneralhome.com

Memorials:
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Friends of the Acton Public Health Nursing Service, P.O. Box 541, Acton, MA, 01720 or to the American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 11454, Alexandria, VA 22312 or at www.diabetes.org.

Visitation:
Visitation is from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM on Friday, September 20, 2013 at Dee Funeral Home in Concord, Massachusetts.


Service:
The funeral service will follow at 10:00 AM on Saturday, September 21, 2013, at St. Irene Roman Catholic Church in Carlisle, Massachusetts. Father Thomas P. Donohoe will be officiating.