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Lionel Dahmer

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Celebrity's Relative

The Resume

    (July 29, 1936-December 5, 2023)
    Born in West Allis, Wisconsin
    Lionel Herbert Dahmer
    Ohio-based analytical chemist
    Father of Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer
    Graduated from Marquette University, in 1966
    Married Joyce Annette Flint (Jeffrey's Mother) in 1959; divorced in 1978
    Remarried, to Shari Jordan (Dahmer), in 1978
    Penned the autobiography 'A Father's Story' (1994)
    Granted a joint highly-rated Dateline interview to Stone Phillips alongside his son, two years after being sentenced to life in prison for the murder and disembowelment of seventeen men and boys (1994)
    Portrayed by Bruce Davison in the biographical film 'Dahmer' (2002)

Why he might be annoying:

    He turned to creationism later in life.
    He admitted to openly favoring his younger son, David.
    He probably fostered his son's early fascination with human body parts (as early as four Jeff was inquiring about 'bones' - which he taught him how to cleanse and preserve).
    He claimed he didn't know that his son had been an alcoholic until Jeff was 18 (he had started four years prior).
    He was obtuse enough not to even figure out that his son had committed a murder (his very first) in his own house kitchen.
    He got into a fight with then 29 year-old Jeff over his refusal to reveal the contents of a box he had stashed in his closet while he was living with his grandmother.
    Jeff's reason for refusing was that he had pornographic material inside, when in reality it was the head of one of his victims. Lionel bought the lie, although he remained convinced if he hadn't his son's killing spree would have been stopped.
    He claimed he didn't know his son was carrying out experiments on dead animals as a kid, even when Jeffrey wrote off the stench coming from his grandmother's basement as just being residue from it.
    He passive-aggressively placed most of the blame for his son's actions on his ex-wife, in his book (pointing to her Borderline-Personality Disorder as its potential root).
    Joyce was apparently offended enough to begin penning a memoir of her own, entitled 'An Assault on Motherhood,' but her death, in 2000, killed the plans.
    He claimed to have felt he betrayed his son by publishing his book after Jeffrey asked 'how come your book didn't have all the happy things we did together?'
    He said 'My weak reply was that the book was intended to show a limited focus, a spiraling downward.' Jeff replied 'it sure did.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He lived every parent's worst nightmare in finding out overnight that his child was a sadistic killer reviled by the world.
    He remained loyal to his son while not being in denial of the crimes he committed.
    In the months following his son's arrest and trial, he visited him frequently; delivering messages from his dying mother to Jeffrey in prison.
    He was encouraged to change his name to prevent future association with his son's heinous deeds. During an appearance on Larry King Live he and his second wife made it clear they wouldn't.
    He took responsibility for his own shortcomings; confessing that his having been overly-encompassed by his schooling, and later his work, may have led to neglect of his son's more sensitive needs.
    But contrary to popular belief, he did spend time with young Jeffrey - raising lambs, building fences for them, and planting gardens; activities Jeff looked back on fondly.
    He convinced his son to seek help from a psychiatrist when he recognized he was mentally ill.
    If his son wasn't a cannibalistic serial killer, their reconciliation near the end of his life would probably have been very touching.
    He hugged his son when he first appeared for their joint Dateline interview (he would be murdered by Christopher Scarver mere months after the appearance).
    He wrote in his book: 'I find I remain in the grip of a great unknowing, both in terms of Jeff himself, and my effect upon him as a father .... Fatherhood remains, at last, a great enigma, and when I contemplate one day that my other son may one day become a father, I can only say to him, as I must to every father after me: Take care, take care, take care.'

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 7 Votes: 85.71% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 101 Votes: 32.67% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 39 Votes: 10.26% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 57 Votes: 43.86% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 12 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 55 Votes: 61.82% Annoying