Jerome R. Johnson

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Jerome Johnson Sr., 80, of Richmond, a retired boilermaker and U.S. Army veteran who will be remembered as a "great guy" with a good sense of humor, died Monday in Clove Lakes Health Care and Rehabilitation Center, Castleton Corners, where he had been a patient for three weeks.

Born in Brooklyn, he was raised in Queens. He moved to New Dorp in 1960, and also lived in Dongan Hills before settling in Richmond in 1975.

Mr. Johnson was a boiler maker with Local 5 of the Boiler Makers Union for more than 40 years. He worked for the city Sanitation department at Fresh Kills until retiring in 1996.

He served in the U.S. Army.

He was fond of classic cars and was a member of the Staten Island Antique Car Club. He also enjoyed crabbing, fishing, raising tropical fish and was a loyal Pittsburgh Steelers fan.

He also enjoyed being a loving uncle to his nieces and nephews.

Mr. Johnson was a parishioner of St. Patrick's R.C. Church, Richmond.

His wife of 53 years, Loretta, died in 2010. His son, Jerome Jr., died in 1992.

The funeral service will be Friday at 10 a.m. in the Virginia Funeral Chapel, Dongan Hills. Burial will follow in Resurrection Cemetery, Pleasant Plains.