John Augustus Dilworth

He is remembered with great love, honor, and respect by his wife of 61 years, Marie F. Dilworth, and daughter, Amy Dilworth Gabel, and son-in-law Randy W. Gabel.

John was born in Atlantic City, NJ on September 4, 1931. Following high school graduation, he joined the Navy where he worked with the weather service in Hawaii. As part of that duty, he was assigned to participate in the first hydrogen bomb test in Enewetak. After the service, he attended West Chester University, where he met and married Marie. Upon graduation, they returned to NJ where he taught physical education and coached several sports teams. In 1962, they moved to DE where he spent the rest of his career. During this time, John coached and taught physical education and health. After completing his graduate work, he became a school counselor and was among the first group to receive national certification.

In 1981, John was named Delaware’s Counselor of the Year. He was also the recipient of the 1990 Outstanding Professional Service Award from the Delaware Association of Counseling and Development. During his tenure, he was credited with helping many students and families cope with the challenges they faced.

Due to his love of the beach and body surfing, early retirement years were spent in Surfside Beach, SC. In 2004 they moved to Summerfield, FL, where John became an avid square dancer. He served as president of the Fountain Squares, the Del Webb square dance club. In 2012, the move was made to The Cascades in Greenville.

Baseball was always a passion for John. He played at multiple levels, from semi-pro on New Jersey and Delaware teams in his younger years, to a traveling senior softball tournament team until his early 70’s. Throughout the years, he maintained an active interest in sports, also serving as a track and field starter with Coastal Carolina.

His capacity for empathy and compassion in all aspects of life was unsurpassed. He accommodated all sorts of challenges presented by his wife and daughter when it came to animals, including figuring out how to travel across the country for a month with a cat and a guinea pig in a camper! He was admired for his incredibly strong spirit and sense of humor in the face of adversity. He will be missed greatly by family and friends.

Donations in John’s memory may be made to one of the following: 1) University of Florida Proton Therapy Institute (Molly Dworkin Director of Development, UF Health Proton Therapy Institute, 2015 North Jefferson Street, Jacksonville, FL 32206 Tel: 904-588-1519 or https://www.floridaproton.org/news/give-support ; 2) The American Heart Association (https://donatenow.heart.org/).

Arrangements under the direction of Mackey Mortuary, GREENVILLE, SC.