DUNNE Rev. Msgr. Joseph A., was ninety-six at the time of his death at Our Lady of Consolation Residence in Riverdale, NY.
Born September 14, 1916 in Richmond Hill, Queens, he was predeceased by his parents Philip and Margaret Dunne, his sisters Virginia Ruckel and Janet White, and his nephew James Ruckel.
He is survived by eight nieces, three nephews, five grandnieces, ten grandnephews, four great-nieces and seven great-nephews.
He was ordained in 1942 at Saint Joseph's Seminary Dunwoodie, in Yonkers and served as a parish priest at Saint Peter's in
Poughkeepsie. In 1944 he joined the U.S. Army as a Chaplain and paratrooper serving during WWII and Korea. He was discharged at the rank of
Major from the XVIII Airborne Corps in 1953 due to disabilities from injuries suffered in Korea.
He received the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart for courage under fire after jumping behind enemy lines with the 187th Airborne into Munsan-ni, Korea, where he was seriously wounded by a land mine while tending to the wounded and dying. He was also awarded the Army Commendation Ribbon and Senior Parachutist Badge.
He returned to the New York Archdiocese and worked at Our Lady of Victory in Manhattan, Saint Sylvester's in Staten Island and Saint John's in White Plains. He was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the Military Ordinariate by Cardinal Spellman in 1956 and elevated to Monsignor in 1957.
In 1958 he was appointed Chaplain of the New York City Police
Department where he worked for twenty-three years. |
During this time he founded and directed the NYPD Alcoholism Rehabilitation Program. In addition, he founded and directed the National Council on Compulsive Gambling and co-founded Debtors Anonymous. From 1981 until 1986 he worked at John Jay College of Criminal Justice where he served as the Executive Director of The Institute on Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and as an adjunct professor teaching the alcoholism and substance abuse counseling course.
Although he retired to Florida in 1986 to play more golf, he assisted St. Bernadette's Parish in Hollywood
[FL], and continued counseling police officers at the Seafield 911 Rehabilitation Center in Dania.
After suffering a major stroke in 1991, he concentrated on his physical therapy and recovery. In 2000, he returned to New York to be near his family and friends.
Visiting hours will be held at DAVID J. HODDER & SON FUNERAL HOME, 899 McLean Ave., Yonkers on Friday, June 14, 2013 from 2-4 & 7-9 PM.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by His Eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan at St. Barnabas Church, Bronx on Saturday June 15, 2013 at 11:30 AM. Interment to follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the New York Catholic Foundation, in memory of Msgr. Joseph A. Dunne, for the Egan Pavilion, 1011 First Ave. NY, NY 10022 or to Calvary Hospital Hospice, 1740
Eastchester Rd. Bronx, NY 10461.[Daily News,
New York, NY, 12 Jun 2013, Wed, Page 36] |
Joseph registered for the draft in Yonkers, NY, on 16
October 1940 while still a divinity student at St. Joseph's Seminary,
Yonkers, NY
After graduating, he was commissioned as a 1st Lt, to
act as Catholic chaplain. He was promoted to
Captain on 16 July 1945. On 22 Match 1951, he
was promoted to Major and only learned of it the day after he was
wounded in Korea. |
