Harry Dino
By: Samantha Murray
Harry Dino's Great-Granddaughter
Harry Dino (Dee-no), my great-grandfather, was born in 1895 in Albania and moved to Quincy Massachusetts at age 15. Massachusetts is on the East Coast which is the closest point in the U.S. from Albania, and Quincy was known for its large Albanian population, hence the reason he moved there.
Harry lived through WWI, WWII, and the Korean War, though he was fortunate to not be drafted in any of them, allowing him to live where he wanted and minimize his travels.
End of life
Harry passed away due to Alzheimers in 1965 at age 70. His family hired a priest from a Mosque/Islamic Center in Detroit to bury Harry in Lincoln, R.I.. His family was friends with the person who ran the mosque, Baba Rexhep, through Albanian connections. Harry's family went to great lengths to hire a priest as they wanted a respected person of their religion to run the ceremony. Detroit also was known for its very large Albanian community so they were certain this priest would respect the family's wishes and conduct the funeral with care.
Faith Mosque
Famous Mosque in Albania
Dearborn Mosque
In Detroit and belongs to the American Moslem Society
On the left, you will see two traditional styles of Mosques; one in Albania and one in America. These are examples of the type of place where Harry and his family practiced their religion.
Interview
For this project I interviewed my mom's first cousin, my Xhaxhi Ali, who is Harry Dino's grandson. Xhaxhi means uncle in Albanian. He is very educated on my family's culture and background. He makes an active effort to educate all those in our family, so we may continue to share our history. He lives in Rhode Island close to where Harry and our relatives used to live.
Me and Xhaxhi Ali after our interview
Click below to chose what part of Harry's life you want to learn about next!