Vincent Carr, could pour a mean drink

VINCENT A. Carr Sr. was a champion mixologist with a devoted clientele at the many bars where he practiced his trade, and it was obvious that one of the factors that made him great was that he loved people.

Vince - an Irish-born American with a gift for blarney, who also was an entrepreneur, a jitterbug dancer who always drew a crowd, expert dart shooter, carpenter and skilled fisherman - died Sunday after a long battle with prostate cancer. He was 75 and lived in Fairmount.

He was born in County Donegal, Ireland, to Thomas Carr and Bridget Doherty, and came to the U.S. in 1939.

He attended St. Francis Xavier Parochial School and Roman Catholic High School. He worked for the Pure Rock water company and McCloskey builders before he became a bartender at the Copper Canyon, in Philadelphia.

He also served up the drinks at the old Bay Shores and the Dunes, in Somers Point, N.J. He earned a reputation as one of the best bartenders around.

In the Sir Francis Room of the Drake Hotel he revelled in customers telling him, "Man, that was the best drink I ever had."

In the 1980s, he and his wife, Theresa Marie Drum, ran Vince & Tees Tavern, in Port Richmond. He also opened one of the last mom-and-pop grocery stores in Fairmount, Vince's Victory Market.

In retirement, he returned to bartending for 12 years on the Cape May-Lewes Ferry.

"He always said it was the people he missed the most," his family said.

Vince and his wife liked to cut a rug at family gatherings, monopolizing the dance floor and drawing a crowd.

He loved to shop at yard sales and enjoyed haggling to get a good price. He was a prize-winning dart shooter and a fisherman who, in 1983, caught one of the largest porgies ever recorded in the Cape May County Fishing Tournament.

Vince was also a connoisseur of cars and liked to reminisce about the automobiles that he had had back in the "good old days."

"He loved to sit at home in his chair with the remote control, reading the Daily News with his best friend and dog, Jake, right by his side," his family said.

"He was a humble and patient man who loved the simple nature of life."

Besides his wife, he is survived by three daughters, Danielle Carr, Colleen Cheney and Linda Conover; two sons, Vincent Jr. and Kevin; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Services: Funeral Mass at 10:30 a.m. today at St. Francis Xavier Church, 24th and Green streets. Friends may call at 7 this evening at the Dinan Funeral Home, 1921 Spring Garden St., and at 8:30 a.m. tomorrow.