Dr. James Robert Dineen, a retired captain with the U.S. Navy and a resident of Wilmington, died July 17, 2014, at Lower Cape Fear Hospice. He was 92.
Following high school, Dr. Dineen’s pre-med college days were spent at Washington and Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. He then attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine and graduated as a Doctor of Medicine in 1945.
His internship and surgery residency was at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Sampson, N.Y. from 1945 to 1947 and he spent his orthopaedic surgery residencies at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Philadelphia, the Children’s Medical Center in Boston and the U.S. Naval Hospital in Chelsea, Mass.
Dr. Dineen was a V-12 commissioned officer with the U.S. Navy reserve from July 1943 to June 1945, lieutenant junior grade in 1945 and served regular service in 1947 as lieutenant junior grade with the Medical Corps of the U.S. Navy.
He was assistant chief of orthopaedics at the W.S. Army Hospital, Tripler in Hawaii from 1953 to 1955; chief of orthopaedics at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune from 1955 to 1960; chief of orthopaedics at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Oakland, Calif. from 1960 to 1963; division surgeon with the Second Marine Division Fleet Marine Force at Camp Lejeune from 1963 to 1964; and retired as captain with the Medical Corps of the U.S. Navy in 1964 with 22 years of service.
The Cuban Missle Crisis caused a transfer to point of force in the Atlantic from Camp Lejeune with the 2nd Marine Division aboard the USN Sandovahl with a medical unit of 117 specialty surgeons and support officers. A career highlight for Dr. Dineen came in 1962 when he had the privilege of doing conservative treatment for Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.
One of his most cherished accomplishments was earning his gold Palm Eagle Scout Award in 1937 at the age of 14 with 36 merit badges.
After his military career, Dr. Dineen opened his private practice in Wilmington. He recruited surgeons Walter Weiss, Donald Getz, Kevin Scully, John “Bud” Azzato, David Esposito, Murray Seidel and John O’Malley, all of whom were excellent at their jobs. Assisting these surgeons were a group of nurses and staff he fondly referred to as “Coastal Angels.”
Dr. Dineen was a member of Medical Aspects of Sports Committees of North Carolina; State Medical Society; American Medical Association; North Carolina Orthopaedic Association; and Southern Medical Association.
He was a fellow in the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons; American College of Surgeons; and the American College of Sport Medicine. He was a founding fellow of the American Orthopaedic Foot Society and a diplomat for the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery in 1954.
Until his retirement in 1991, Dr. Dineen was on the staff of Cape Fear Memorial Hospital, including serving as chief of staff in 1972. He was a consultant of the Commanding Officers at the U.S. Naval Hospital at Camp Lejeune, a full professor of Clinical Orthopaedic at UNC Chapel Hill and held a teaching position in the Orthopaedic Division of Surgery where he volunteered one day a week during the academic year.
Dr. Dineen was also a consultant in occupational medicine, Musculoskeletal System of Carolina Turkeys in Mt. Olive, in 1988 and a board member of the North Carolina Ergonomic Resource Center in 1975.
He volunteered to go on his day off to Chapel Hill to teach the third-year medical students. For more than three decades of teaching UNC medical students, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 2005. In 2013 he was the recipient of the Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame Award for his contributions in the safety of all sports participants.
He was born in Corning, N.Y. on Sept. 24, 1921, to Marguerite C. and James J. Dineen. He was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Dorothy Seger Dineen; mother of his seven children; oldest son, Lt. Col. Michael Dineen (Ret); and brother, John “Bud” Dineen, of Ormond Beach, Fla.
He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Emma Maxwell Dineen, a teacher and principal for 39 years; children, Robert S. (Martha), David A. (Debbie), Dr. Jeffrey J. (Donna), Kevin W., Mary Jo and Brian J. (Marcie); grandchildren, Katherine, Dana, Jennifer, Sharon, Bobby, Leslie, William, Collins, Ben, Erin, Courtney, Meagan, Chase, T. J. and Corrine; seven great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews; sister-in-law, Barbara Dineen, of Ormond Beach, Fla.; and brother-in-law, Jeff Maxwell (Belva), of Stedman.
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, July 25, 2014, at St. Mark Catholic Church on Eastwood Road.
The family wishes to thank the staff of Davis Rehabilitation and Wellness Center, Woodbury Wellness Center in Hampstead and Lower Cape Fear Hospice for their loving and compassionate care.
Memorial gifts may be made to the James R. Dineen Nursing Scholarship Fund at UNCW, any veteran’s organizations of your choice, or Lower Cape Fear Hospice, 1406 Physicians Drive, Wilmington, NC 28401.
Please leave online condolences for the family at Andrews Mortuary.
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