Matthew E. Dullaghan

Matthew E. Dullaghan

Matthew E. Dullaghan, 85, formerly of Waynesboro, died Wednesday, April 8, 2009, in Midlothian, Virginia, after a long illness.

He was born in the Bronx, New York, where his parents had immigrated. His father was employed by the National Biscuit Company. He attended Regis High School in Manhattan and graduated in 1941.

He served in the United States Army in the Pacific Theater during World War II and was awarded the Purple Heart after the Battle of Okinawa. After the war, he returned to the Bronx to attend Fordham College (now Fordham University), earning a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1953. He continued to teach at Fordham for several years as an Associate Professor of Chemistry. He was later employed at Evans Research and Development Corporation in Manhattan. It was there that he met the former Mildred E. Howson. They married in 1955.

Mr. Dullaghan moved to Wilmington, Delaware, in 1955, to begin work for E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Company and was transferred to Waynesboro in 1960. He was active at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church as a lector, Sunday school teacher and principal, as well as in a Green Stamp drive for the parochial school's bus. He was a Saturday regular on the links at the Waynesboro Country Club. He was also active in the Waynesboro Players and the Oak Grove Theater, both as an actor and behind the scenes.

The family returned to Wilmington in 1976, and remained there until Mr. Dullaghan's retirement from DuPont in 1985, when he and his wife returned to Waynesboro. He remained active at St. John's, serving as its first Parish Administrator, and in the Knights of Columbus. He served on the city's Council for the Elderly and as Chairman of the Electoral Board. He also returned to teaching chemistry, both at Blue Ridge Community College and as a substitute teacher at Waynesboro High School. After his wife, Mim, died in 2000, Mr. Dullaghan moved to Midlothian. He last resided at Morningside of Bellgrade.

Survivors include two sons, Matthew P. Dullaghan and his wife, Victoria W. Dullaghan, also of Midlothian; Michael F. Dullaghan of Waynesboro; a daughter, Mary D. Miller and her husband, John J. Miller, also of Waynesboro; and five grandchildren, Christine, Jaclyn, and John Miller, all of Waynesboro, and Matt and Katie Dullaghan, both of Midlothian.

Mr. Dullaghan was preceded in death by his wife; and by his sister, Elizabeth Jane "Jeanne" Dullaghan of the Bronx.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be conducted 10 a.m. Monday, April 13, 2009, at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Riverview Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at McDow Funeral Home from 5 until 7 p.m. Sunday, April 12, 2009.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 674 Hillsdale Dr. Suite 1, Charlottesville, VA 22901.

Those wishing may leave condolences online at mcdowfuneralhomeinc.com


This obituary was originally published in the News Virginian.