Andrew Edward Rooney, Jr, 92, recently of Middletown, RI passed away peacefully on June 26, 2022. He was the husband of Jarmila (Vesely) Rooney and son of Andrew and Edna (Berger) Rooney.
Affable, fastidious, well- mannered with a dry sense of humor, Andy embraced life and opportunity at an early age. First in his family to go to college, he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Clarkson with a mechanical engineering degree. Andy was a lifelong New Yorker, born in Albany and moving to Manhattan after graduating from Clarkson and serving in the Army during the Korean War. It was then that he met the love of his life at Rye Beach. Andy was an astute businessman and entrepreneur. His career eventually took him to Syracuse, New York where he thrived with his family for 60 years.
While he was successful in business, Andy’s zest for experiencing the globe was a greater draw and he retired at a young age. He spent the next three decades as an early explorer of some of the world’s greatest scuba diving and alpine skiing locations. He loved nature and was an avid vegetable gardener. He also enjoyed tennis, fishing, reading and an occasional round of golf. Broadway musicals and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular were annual family traditions.
In 2019, he moved to Middletown, RI to be closer to his daughter. After a period of adjustment, he soon appreciated the ocean proximity, natural beauty and history of Aquidneck Island. He is grateful for the excellent care he received from the staff at Newport Hospital, Grand Islander and Blenheim.
He lost his beloved Jarmila (Jenny) to Alzheimer’s disease in 2017. He is survived by his sister, Judith Taylor (and family) of Voorheesville, NY and his daughter Diane Rooney (Barry Doyle) of Boston, MA and Middletown, RI.
A private graveside service will be held at Graceland Cemetery in Albany, NY. Please, no flowers. An expression of sympathy is greatly appreciated through memorial gifts to Oceana (oceana.org), the Trust for Public Land (tpl.org) or the Alzheimer’s Association (alz.org).