John Wilson Dunnett

John Wilson Dunnett, age 76, of Bristol, entered into eternal rest on August 14, 2025 in home home surrounded by his loving family. He is the beloved husband of Jeanne (Wigton) Dunnett. John was born, one of six children of John M. and Josephine Dunnett, on October 21, 1948. He was born in Connecticut, but later the family moved to New Jersey. He enlisted in the army in 1967 and served as a payroll clerk for three years, serving in Vietnam at the Long Binh base during the last year of his service. Upon his return from Vietnam, he worked in his father's tax office, preparing tax returns for five years. At that time, perhaps due to his experience in Vietnam, he was searching for something more out of life and so he found God. His two younger brothers had moved to Connecticut and he followed them there where he became a lifelong lover of Jesus and the Scriptures. Next to God and family, his other love was work. He loved to work, and he did it with complete passion and concentration. Some days, he would come home from work and Jeanne would open his lunch box, sigh, and pack it all back into the fridge for the next day. With his desire to finish and due to his focus on the work, he had not eaten all day. Sometimes he would say, "Oh I grabbed some chips on the way home at the 7/11." More sighs. John was devoted to his faith, but he was also a devoted son to his mother, Josephine, husband to his wife, Jeanne, stepdad to his stepdaughters, Edna and Yurah, and brother to his five siblings. His devotion to each one showed in his behavior. For his mom, he drove to NJ faithfully every few weeks to visit his mother in her last years. For his wife, every day that Jeanne worked or when she needed to drive somewhere, he would say, "Let me go get your car." Even if she had her coat and shoes on and he was in his bathrobe, he would insist on getting the car and on taking her books out to the car. For his stepdaughters, he even went so far as to buy a rental property thinking in his mind that his beloved stepdaughters would have a place to stay when they wanted to move out on their own. He made sure that we took family vacations each year. We traveled to visit family in Michigan, to see several of the national parks on the east coast, to hike in the White Mountains and other gorgeous locations around New England, and to spend time at historical places such as Gettysburg or Boston. Some truly special trips were taken to see our very adventurous daughters, visiting them in California, France, Portugal and Switzerland. . He also frequently wrote cards and postcards to them wherever they happened to be living and followed their adventures as they gained independence. John loved his family, even in troubled times. He was predeceased by his father, John, and his mother, Josephine, his older brother, Bruce, and his older sister Claire. John is survived by his sister, Janet, and brothers Greg Ray and Doug, his loving wife, Jeanne, his stepdaughters, Edna Robidas and Yurah Emmenegger and her husband Severin Emmenegger. He also has several nieces and nephews: Lauren (and her children: Josephine and Iris), Jason, Conan, Kevin (and his son: Enzo), Amy and Bethany (and her children: Rosalyn, Izabel, Cecelia, and Sebastian), along with a very large number of beloved in-laws. A graveside service with full military honors will be held on Thursday, August 21, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. at the State Veteran Cemetery, 317 Bow Lane, Middletown. The Bailey Funeral Home of Plainville has been entrusted with the arrangements. To leave a message of remembrance, please visit www.Bailey-FuneralHome.com. John had many favorite things (current events, reading, music), but among them was giving to charities. The requests for money multiplied as different agencies spread the word. Some were related to the military for which he had a lifelong affection. Some were patriotic, some were religious organizations, and still others had to do with children in poverty or suffering from various diseases. ***Therefore, rather than sending flowers or fruit baskets etc, we ask you to please donate to your favorite charity. Something in one of those categories would be supremely appropriate. Thank you.