Rita Dunn, 91

Rita (Kirwin) Dunn, 91, a longtime resident of Jamestown, passed away We d n e s d a y, Nov. 1, 2006, the Feast of All Saints Day, surrounded by her loving family. She was the beloved wife of John E. Dunn, Jr. for 71 years.

Born in Worcester, Mass., she was the daughter of the late John J. and Ruby M. (Cleveland) Kirwin. She was the Goddaughter of the famous J.D. Powers.

At the end of World War II, Mr. and Mrs. Dunn took up residence in Wellesley, Mass., where their children were born and raised.

Mrs. Dunn was the Boston Globe's Women of the Year in 1958. A staunch patriot, she was a founding member of the Democratic Women on Wheels. She was a founding member of the Charles River Association for the Retarded in Massachusetts. An active communicant of St. Mark Church in Jamestown, she was the president of the Women's Club. Mrs. Dunn loved to swim, loved nature and gardening, but her passion was her love for birds.

Mrs. and Mr. Dunn truly lived the sanctity of marriage.

Mrs. Dunn leaves seven sons, the late John Edward III, Robert Kirwin of Jamestown, Thomas Joseph of Wallingford, Conn., James Michael of Centerville, Mass., Timothy Francis of Merrimac, Mass., Paul Everett of Worcester, Mass., and Brian Matthew of Wickford; three daughters, Patricia Lucille of Mystic, Conn., R. Martina of Mountain View, Calif., Mary Josephine of Newport; seven grandchildren; and one deceased grandson, James F. Cirillo III. She is also survived by five sisters and one brother, and was the beloved aunt of forty-one nieces and nephews.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Monday at 11:30 a.m. in St. Mark Church, 60 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown. Burial was in St. Mark Cemetery.

Memorial contributions in her memory to the Maher Center, PO Box 4390, Middletown, RI 02842, will be appreciated.