James A. Flynn, WWII vet, restaurateur, dies at 93

At the Battle of the Bulge, his tank blown up and without food and medical attention, an injured James A. Flynn lay two days in an open field.

A German soldier had taken Flynn's wallet but left him there after seeing a picture of his enemy's wife and noticing his wedding ring.

"Dad always thought that German soldier didn't kill him because he saw a picture of my mom and because of the wedding ring," said Flynn's daughter, Diane P. Flynn of Manhattan and East Hampton. "He always said he owed his life to that guy."

Flynn emerged from World War II a decorated soldier, awarded a Purple Heart and two Bronze Stars. And for the rest of his life - partly because of what happened at the Bulge, his daughter believes - his spirituality reflected both soldierly loyalty and discipline.

"He was incredibly stoic ... a daily Mass-goer but not a goody-goody," she said.

Flynn - who with his father and four brothers operated several restaurants, including Flynn's Fire Island in Ocean Bay Park - died Thursday at a Bay Shore assisted-living facility after a long illness, relatives said. He was 93. Flynn lived in Brightwaters and on Fire Island and also part of the time in Amelia Island, Fla.

Flynn's father, John, started the restaurant that bore the family's name in 1937, but because of Long Island's famous hurricane of 1938 and then the war, that property went virtually unused until 1949, when it reopened.

Today, Flynn's Fire Island, which includes a marina, is operated by two generations of Flynns, including James' son. The family also operated the Oak Beach Inn on the Jones Beach Causeway, Maguire's Restaurant in Ocean Beach and the old Bay Shore Boatmen's Association.

"The family was responsible for a lot of development in Ocean Bay Park," Diane Flynn said.

Her father often ran the kitchen in the restaurants, and she said he was a man comfortable with people from all walks of life, from a dishwasher to a bank president.

"He had a great sense of humor, a dry, Irish sense of humor," she said. "He was an accomplished golfer, loved basketball and loved surf casting."

Diane Flynn said she and her two brothers also appreciated their father's patience. Once, when she was 16, a lost driver looking for directions pulled his car into the driveway of their home on Lakeview Avenue in Brightwaters. Diane, a new driver at the time, promptly backed up the family car into the man's parked car. Her father handled the situation coolly and calmly, his daughter remembered. No screaming, no scolding.

"My father used to say, 'It's not what you say but how you say it,' " she said. "You tried to be a good person because you didn't want to disappoint him."

In addition to his daughter, he is survived by his sons, James T. Flynn of Islip and Fire Island and Peter M. Flynn of Bellport; and two grandchildren. Lillian H. Flynn, his first wife, died in 1956, and Ethel D. Flynn, his second wife, died in 1986.

Visitation is Sunday at Chapey & Sons Funeral Home in West Islip. A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Monday at St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church in Bay Shore, followed by burial in Long Island National Cemetery in Pinelawn.