Capt. Jack Hearn, family man, Marine, leader
Norval Wilson Hearn Jr., 83, of Milton, known as “Jack” Hearn - cast off the last line to life at the home he built, in the arms of his loving wife Joy and surrounded by his children.
Jack was born during the Great Depression and raised during World War II when sacrifice was part of life. He became a legendary figure among tugboat mariners on the Delaware River, retiring as an independent maritime pilot.
He was a football and baseball hero, placed in the Marcus Hook Athletes Hall of Fame. A veteran, he served in the U.S. Navy and then joined the U.S. Marines and became a sergeant. He served in Korea during the Korean Conflict.
A self-taught man, he became a USCG licensed officer in the U.S. Merchant Marine and reached the highest positions of his profession. Captain Jack enjoyed a 50-year career at sea, mostly as a tugboat captain along the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Puerto Rico and to Texas. He was also a docking pilot in Philadelphia, and known as the “Premier Tugboat Captain” on the Delaware River.
Retiring from tugboats, he started his own piloting service, and became one of a very few independent pilots in the U.S., navigating ships and tugboats along the Delaware Bay and River.
He was a labor leader who represented his fellow officers and co-workers in many union negotiations enduring strikes and lock-outs. Captain Jack was a stand-up guy and never backed away from fighting the good fight.
Captain Hearn has yet another great professional legacy. With his sons and grandsons, he was a key influence and strategy leader starting the American Professional Mariners Association, a national nonprofit that helps mariners and their families with career services and workforce development.
In 1955, Jack returned from Korea and was assigned to the Naval War College in Newport, R.I. He married his childhood sweetheart Rosemary “Joy” Gaudino. Together, Jack and Joy enjoyed a full life, including raising four wonderful children, perils at sea, art and music, travel, romance, love and beaching-it in Delaware and at their second home in Jupiter, Fla. They attended hundreds of dance, musical and sporting events with their children and grandchildren, living in the excitement of recitals, concerts and athletic contests while delighting in championships and the small achievements of a first game. Every success started with the support from Jack and Joy.
Jack was larger than life and an unforgettable gentleman with movie-star looks and a quiet disposition. His greatest gifts in life ranged from guidance to personal strength, unbiased love, unconditional understanding, and thoughtful insight. He was an amazing man who truly set an example and lives on in the hearts and minds of those who were privileged to know him. His 15 grandchildren adored him, and several grandsons now strive to emulate his legendary seamanship along with his two sons.
Jack was most generous sharing his talent, knowledge and skills with every mariner fortunate enough to have had him as their captain. The respect he achieved during his years at sea continued upon his passing. On the Delaware River and Bay, tugboats and ships lowered their American flags to half-staff in his honor. Captain Jack Hearn was the best in every way.
Jack is survived by his devoted wife, Joy; and their children, Jack (Dara) Hearn of Lewes, Robin (Steve) Hinkle of Newark, Kevin (Tina) Hearn of Milton, Staci (Pete) Coveleski of Lewes; and grandchildren: Natalie, Michael, Miriah Hearn Baker (Robert), Jack, Will Hearn, Joseph Chesworth (Jacqueline), Steven, Rosemary Hinkle, Katey Hearn, Samantha Coveleski Mazur (Dan), Max, Kaci, Jaclyn, Hank, Joe Coveleski; and great-grandchildren: Leigh, Shay, Connor, and Jack Bear Chesworth (Joe and Jacqueline). He is also survived by his brother, Joe (Delores) Hearn of Boothwyn, Pa.; and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family and friends. He is predeceased by his parents, Norval W. Hearn Sr. and Martha Josephine Hearn of Slaughter Beach; and his brother, Bob Hearn of Lewes (wife Lucy).
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, Feb. 11, at 11 a.m., at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church, 152 Tulip Drive, Lewes, where friends may visit beginning at 9 a.m. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, tax-deductible contributions can be made in honor of his proud accomplishment, starting the American Professional Mariners Association (APMA), to the Captain Jack Hearn Scholarship Fund c/o APMAF, Diehl Foraker CPAs LLC, 18306 Coastal Highway, Lewes, DE 19958, or to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, PO Box 50, Memphis, TN 38101-9929.
Arrangements are being handled by Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, Lewes.
Please visit Jack’s Life Memorial webpage and sign his online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com.
