Carroll J. Dunn Sr.

HOLYOKE- Carroll (Carl) Joseph Dunn Sr., lifelong resident of Holyoke, died January 26th following a brief illness. Born on Christmas morning, 1916, he was the son of Patrick Hughes and Margaret Cunningham Dunn. He was a member of the first class to enter Holyoke's Blessed Sacrament grammar school, and he graduated from Sacred Heart High School. He studied criminal justice at Holyoke Community College. In 1942, he joined the US Army Air Corps and trained in military bases across the country. He went on to serve as staff sergeant in the 363 fighter squadron seeing battle campaigns in Northern and Central Europe. He was awarded the bronze star November, 1944. In 1943 he married Anna Mae Lavelle, his beloved wife of 71 years, who predeceased him in 2014. As a teenager, Carl worked at Hampden Ponds. Using horse-drawn saws, he cut ice from the pond and delivered it to iceboxes in tenements across Holyoke. He went on to work for the ADT in Springfield, and following World War II he was appointed to the Holyoke Police Department. Rising through the ranks, he served as Captain of Detectives and Captain of Police. He also worked for the John B. Shea Funeral Home. After retiring in1972, he managed security at Champion Company, MacDuffy School for Girls, and residential high-rise towers in Springfield MA. He was a quiet man whose greatest pleasure was spending time with his family. He delighted in taking care of his grandchildren and reveled in their antics. But he was also a hero and adventurer. He brought great intelligence, imagination and bravery to his detective work, pursuing criminals with no thought for his own safety. More than that he did his work with great compassion, always recognizing and pitying the human frailty of those he had to bring to justice. Nor did he hesitate to run into a burning building or into a storm-tossed ocean to rescue someone. A fine musician, he entertained friends and family with banjo, mandolin, and harmonica tunes. He was a lifelong student of literature and history, a keeper of fascinating vade mecums, and a devoted Red Sox fan. He was one of the seven founding members of Holyoke's original St Patrick's Day Parade. His Irish wisdom, wit, and grace sustained his family in good times and bad. Many of those he leaves behind knew him for half a century or more. We will sorely miss his humor, his stories, his music and his kindness. He was not famous, out-spoken or well known. Rather he was a model of a life lived for others with integrity, deep thought and unfailing kindness. He was a man in full. He was predeceased by his wife, Annamae, his son William, and his daughter Joanne. Also predeceased are his brothers: John, Eugene, William, Frances, Henry, Walter, and Edward Dunn, and sisters Lillian Moriarty, May O'Conner, Margaret Dunn, Rose Diliberto, Agnes O'Connor, Kathryn Kelley, and Dorothy Clancy. He will be deeply missed by his dog, Mick, and surviving children, Carroll Dunn and wife Mary Dowd, Christopher Dunn and wife Patricia, daughter Marilyn Dunn, and his grandchildren Brendan, Anna, Patrick and wife Michelle, Caitlin, Hugh, Timothy, Maureen, Evan, Jessie, Michael Dunn and great grandchildren Edward and Emilia Dunn. He is also survived by cherished nieces and nephews. The funeral will be held Saturday, January 30th at 10:30 a.m. from the Barry J. Farrell Funeral Home, 2049 Northampton Street, followed by a Mass in Blessed Sacrament Church at 11:00 a.m. Burial will be in Saint Jerome Cemetery. Calling hours will be held Saturday morning from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to the William Dunn Educational Fund at William Dean Vocational and Technical High School, Holyoke, MA.