Joseph D. DEVINE III

DEVINE, Joseph D. III


Joseph Driscoll Devine III, 65, of the Noank section of Groton, CT, died peacefully Sunday, July 28, 2013, after a very brief illness. He is survived by his beloved wife, Kathleen Palm Devine, his devoted daughter and son, Jaime Devine McKinley of Amston, CT and Joseph D. Devine IV of Marlborough, CT, as well as his loving stepdaughter, Caitlin Palm of Boston, MA, and eight beloved grandchildren. Joe was born September 5, 1947, in Norwich, CT, the son of Joyce Ricker Devine Lyons and Joseph D. Devine, Jr., both of whom predeceased him. He resided at Groton Long Point, CT, for most of his life. He received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut and his PhD. in oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. Joe worked most of his professional life as a petrologist, volcanologist and seismologist with a special focus on volcanic areas in Africa, particularly in Cameroon, the Soufriere Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat and the Kick-'em-Jenny volcano off the north coast of Grenada, in the Lesser Antilles arc. His career also spanned some 30 years as a senior research associate at the Electron Microprobe Laboratory at the Department of Geological Sciences at Brown University in Providence, R.I. An internationally known and published author and co-author of numerous scholarly papers, he will be respectfully remembered by his colleagues as a dedicated and meticulous scientist, with a deep interest in using his knowledge and skills to ensure that communities vulnerable to volcanic and other geologic hazards were made safer for human and animal life. Joe was an extremely proud veteran of the Submarine Service of the United States Navy, serving during the Vietnam War era as a fire control technician aboard the USS Dace, SSN 607, based in Groton, CT, making numerous international voyages aboard the Dace as part of his service. He remained a skilled life-long sailor with an abiding interest in all the oceans of the world and a special love of nature, especially the wild birds he faithfully fed and nurtured. Joe was a deeply spiritual and modest man, with a strong love of family, a commitment to all humanity and an extraordinary sense of humor and good will to all. Joe was the last to complain about anything. In any situation of discouragement or personal pain, he used his bravery and incredibly creative sense of humor to find something good to say to put things right for everyone. A friend of Bill W., he was humbly grateful for the opportunity his fellowship gave him to help all those who suffered and were in need of his abiding love, encouragement and support. He was devoted to the cause of recovery for those who needed it, and gave countless hours of his life to that noble mission. In addition to his wife and children, he leaves to cherish his memory his daughter-in-law, Tamara Burke Devine and sons-in-law Jason McKinley and Timothy Brown. He was the beloved "Grandpa Joe" of Jackson and Connor McKinley, Christopher, Dylan, Braeden and Calvin Joseph Devine, and Theo and Eva Palm-Brown, all of whom he loved with his whole heart. He loved and was also deeply loved by his siblings Michael R. Devine and his wife Chantal Devine of Pawcatuck, CT, Carlanne Devine Dodson and her husband Keith Dodson, of Dorset, VT, and Susan Devine Bailey of Norwichtown, CT, as well as his dear friend and former brother-in-law, Duncan Bailey, of Norwich, CT. Joe also leaves his devoted aunts, Elizabeth Devine Colson of Groton Long Point and Harriet Ricker LaVarge of Norwich and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins of the Delaney, Young, Devine, Ricker and Bailey families. In addition, Joe's memory will be honored by the extended members of Kathleen's family, who respected Joe very much and were grateful for the intense love he bore for Kathleen in the last nine years of his life, bringing her so much happiness and giving her his unconditional devotion.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held for Joseph at 10 a.m. on Monday, August 5, 2013, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, 32 East Main St., Mystic, CT, with a reception to follow in the church hall. There will be no prior calling hours. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Joe's honor be made either to the Lawrence and Memorial Hospital Cancer Center in New London, CT, or to Doctors without Borders. May our beloved Joe always have fair winds and following seas to bring him into the arms of his Lord and Savior, in whom he had so much faith as his higher power. Goodbye, Darling, we all loved you so much.