Jack Dickau

FORESTVILLE

Jack Dickau, 78, of Forestville, passed away on Friday, July 4, 2025. He was born on January 28, 1947, in New Britain, son of the late George and Ceceila (Carroll) Dickau. Jack was the loving husband of Gale (DiSabato) Dickau for 55 years. Besides his wife, Gale, Jack is survived by his daughter Jennifer Taylor and her husband Adam of Sandy Hook; grandsons Joshua Eliot Taylor and Nathan Jack Taylor; brothers Edward Dickau of Alexandria, VA, and Thomas Dickau of Bristol; sisters-in-law Teresa DiSabato of The Villages, FL, and Elvera Howard of Wellesley, MA; and several nieces and nephews. Besides his parents, Jack was predeceased by his brother Arthur Dickau; sisters-in-law Bernie Dickau and Donna Dickau; and brother-in-law Richie Howard. Jack was a lifetime "Forestville guy" from Greene-Hills School where he became a lifelong lover of history and a superb athlete under the tutelage of Johnnie Floyd and Jim Bates. He was a three sport captain of soccer, basketball, and baseball at Bristol Eastern High School where he held the strike out record (19) for several years. He was an outstanding member of the American Legion Post 2 championship baseball teams in the 1960's. He cherished his playing time at Muzzy Field where he met his wife and converted her from a Yankee family into a citizen of Red Sox Nation. His passion for the game of baseball fueled his respect for its traditions and strategies. He was an aficionado on the life and career of Ted Williams, his hero. He was a student of the game and could quote stats from every game he'd ever played or watched. Jack was a fan of UCONN basketball and admired the smooth play of Ray Allen and the intensity of Diana Taurasi. Their approaches to the game mirrored his approach to life; his demeanor was smooth and unruffled, yet focused and efficient. He knew how to solve household problems from stopping a leaky faucet to removing a pop corn ceiling. He built things from wine corks and wood; flavored everything with hot pepper and spices; and drove meticulously detailed cars that chauffeured family and friends to airports and hospitals and grocery stores. He was the consummate tour guide and chaperone, accompanying his wife and hundreds of her students on field trips to Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Spain. He coached his daughter's championship Forestville Little League team, played marathon games of setback with friends in Vermont and Maine, and relived whacky pranks with his National Guard buddies with the same ferver. Perhaps his greatest love was reserved for Team Taylor: the family of his daughter Jennifer and her husband Adam, whom he often called "the son I never had." Jack stepped into his role as grandfather to their two sons with the confidence of an all-star triple crown winner who is patient at the plate and swinging for the fences. He cheered their academic successes and athletic accomplishments with unabashed pride. Hundreds of cello and saxophone concerts, author's teas, and science fairs were logged alongside a staggering number of Nate's wrestling matches and Josh's baseball games. Their quiet tenacity with which they approach challenges and their raucous joy over their own and each other's victories are Jack's perfect legacy. Jack was an uncomplicated man: he relished the good times. Good friends; good food; a good laugh. He was a great listener: to the stories of the lives of the people he loved so completely - his wife, his daughter and son-in-law and grandsons - but also to the confidences he kept with friends - from the playground to the casino. He was a realist who found comfort in miracles: a tomato garden bulging with red; grandsons cackling with laughter over nothing, anything; his wife's eggplant parm on a Harvest Bakery hard roll; his brother Tom's phone call nine seconds after Paige Bueckers' three from half court; eighty-six RSVPs to the pizza party he organized for his elementary school friends. Jack was one of the good guys. His was a life well lived. Calling hours will be held on Friday, July 11, 2025 at O'Brien Funeral Home, 24 Lincoln Ave. Bristol, starting at 11 a.m. with military honors at 1 p.m. followed by memorial tributes. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boys & Girls Club of Bristol (www.bbgc.org/donate) or The Jimmy Fund (www.jimmyfund.org). To leave an online message of condolence, please visit Jack's tribute page at www.OBrien-FuneralHome.com.

Jack Dickau