Tom was born in Waterbury, Connecticut on St. Patrick’s Day in 1927 and spent most of his life living and working in Yonkers, New York, attending P.S. 16, Gorton High School and Manhattan College in Riverdale.
Tom’s work life in Yonkers was marked by service to a city he loved starting with working alongside his father as a plumber. He then continued his work as a plumbing supervisor followed by managing the Yonkers Community Development Agency. He was also very actively involved in local politics, serving time as a Westchester County Supervisor and a Yonkers City Councilman. Tom’s last job before retirement found him continuing to give back to the community as a manager of affordable housing in the Bronx, New York.
However, the most important parts of Tom’s life are not captured by his education or his work accomplishments. His world revolved around the five children he raised with his wife Mary, who has been the love of his life for over 62 years, and in later years, that world expanded to include his five grandchildren. Family was always his first priority and time with friends ran a close second. He loved big holiday family gatherings as long as the menu included “little hot dogs”, rooting and sometimes yelling at the Giants on TV with his sons, teaching the waltz to his daughters for the father/daughter dances, doting on his grandchildren, playing golf with his grandsons and lifelong friends who conveniently forgot to keep score, feeding all of the family dogs scraps from the table, and kissing his wife every night before bed.
Tom was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas J. Dunn Sr. and Anna Dunn, his sister Gloria Corrigan and her husband Maurice, and his “outlaws” – Eileen Mullaly, James Mullaly and Patricia and Tom Foley. Tom was also heartbroken by the recent loss of his beloved daughter Nora who shared the same St. Patrick’s Day birthday.
Tom will be greatly missed by all who survive him, including his wife Mary, his son Tom and his wife Maureen, his daughter Marybeth, his son Jim and his wife Beth, his daughter Catherine Gellas and her husband Pete, and his grandchildren, Shannon Muller and her husband Mier, Thomas Dunn, Brendan Dunn, Caitlin Gellas and Conor Dunn. His brother-in-law John Mullaly, his many nieces and nephews, his step-grandchildren and step-great grandchildren and all the people lucky enough to be included in his life will also miss his kindness and his charm.
Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling…
Visiting hours will be in the Whalen & Ball Funeral Home on Friday December 20th from 4pm to 8pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be on Saturday at 9:30am in Sacred Heart Church in Yonkers. Committal service will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla, NY.
To honor Tom’s memory, donations may be sent to Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation Yonkers, N.Y.
Whalen & Ball Funeral Home
168 Park Avenue
Yonkers, NY 10703
(914)965-5488
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