James "Duke" Dacey Sr.

He was loved and cherished by many people including his wife, Marie (DePete) Dacey, his three children; son James Dacey Jr. and deceased wife Christine Dacey, daughter Patricia and husband Rainer Perkons, and daughter AnnMarie and husband Daniel D’Amico; ten grandchildren, James Dacey III and wife Sarah Dacey, Christopher Dacey, Dr. Nicholas Perkons and wife Dr. Michelle Perkons, Sarah Dacey, Amanda D’Amico, Travis Dacey, Stephanie Perkons, Maria D’Amico, Charlie Dacey, and Deanna D’Amico; and great-grandson James Dacey IV.

James is survived by sister Bernadette Vincenzino, and he was predeceased by siblings Josephine Mosiello, Rose Niswonger, Eugene Dacey, Alfonze Dacey and Lucille Plescia.

He was born at home in West Brighton in Staten Island, NY on August 22, 1941 to parents Eugene and Conchetta Dacey. Duke was happily married to his high school sweetheart Marie Dacey for 58 years, and he spent his whole life working to provide for his family. He began his career at Dacey’s Auto Body where he was a co-owner with his brother Eugene. In 1977 he acquired Mackauers Auto Body and ran his own business there until he retired in 2004. Duke had a love for restoring cars; his favorite car was a 1950 Chevy Bel Air. In fact, his nickname “Duke” came from working with Duco Paints in the mixing room.

Duke was a dedicated father who treasured his children and embraced every moment with them. Above all, he loved his role as a grandfather and great-grandfather. The most important thing to Duke was spending time with family and sharing his childhood memories.

One of Duke’s favorite things to do was travel. Some of his favorite places to visit were Greece and Italy. He especially loved to go on cruises and to go camping. As a lifelong Staten Islander, he also enjoyed researching the history of Staten Island and his heritage and making scrapbooks about it.

A memorial gathering for Duke will be held Friday, February 11, 2022 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Casey McCallum-Rice South Shore Funeral Home, 30 Nelson Avenue, Staten Island, New York 10308. A memorial mass will occur Saturday, February 12, 2022 at 9:45 AM at St. Clare's Church, 110 Nelson Avenue, Staten Island, New York 10308.

The memorial mass will also be live streamed at https://stclaresi.com/ or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/c/StClareChurch.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research at https://www.michaeljfox.org/donate/speed-cure-parkinsons-donate-today.