Raymond J. Dunn

Mr. Raymond J. Dunn, III of Lincoln, MA died on March 7 at the age of 75. He was born in West Hartford, CT, the son of Raymond Jr. and Nancy Manion Dunn and was given the nickname "Slugger" as an infant waving his hands in the bassinet, a nickname that continued until his Army career. He attended Kingswood School, playing three sports, and went on to Georgetown University where he graduated with a degree in Economics. He made lifelong friends there, played on the Great Wazoos Intramural basketball team, and was captain of the GU Varsity soccer team for two years. He met Kelly Louise Snider in his senior year; 11 months later they were married and last year they celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary.

Ray was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army at graduation and after Air Defense School was posted to Inchon, South Korea where he commanded a squadron. His proud achievement there was managing to construct a heated field latrine for his troops. Ray was later stationed at Hampton Roads Army Terminal and for his service was awarded the Army Commendation medal. Upon discharge, Ray attended Michigan State University where he received an MBA.

After a period of time as a hospital consultant in NYC, Ray moved to the Boston area. He was recruited by Edward "Buddy" Leroux to be Administrator of the fledgling New England Rehabilitation Hospital in 1971. He was able, with a talented team, to expand the business and become the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Advantage Health Corporation, a publicly traded company with 7,000 employees and 150 sites of service in the Northeast United States that specialized in physical rehabilitation and employed over 1,000 physical, occupational and speech therapists. Advantage Health Corporation was sold in 1996 to an S&P 500 company. At that time, Ray shared the profits from the sale with his employees and founded the Dunn Family Charitable Foundation to help people in need.

Following the sale of AHC, Ray founded the Latin Healthcare Fund, L.P., a venture capital fund that invested in seven companies in Latin America from 1997 to 2007. Most recently, Ray invested in early stage healthcare companies that strive to enhance outcomes and reduce costs in the healthcare system. He served on the Board of Regents at Georgetown University for 6 years, on the Board of Lazarus House in Lawrence for over 20 years and was currently on the Board of Por Cristo in Boston.

Ray and Kelly raised their family in Littleton, Massachusetts where he coached Little League and Youth Soccer and formed another group of close buddies, particularly "The Poker Group", whose members , perhaps, joked and talked more than they played cards and who had a talent for skits and performances at birthdays and weddings and for friendship. Ray loved sports and was proficient at tennis, racquetball, bowling (The Alley Opps) and golf as well as being an avid fan of all the Boston area sport franchises.

Through St. Elizabeth of Hungary parish in Acton, the Dunns formed what was known as a Family Cluster with four other families. This intergenerational group has for 40 years been a source of fun and emotional and spiritual support. One of the kids, now in his late 40s, recently wrote: "He was always looking to get the best out of everyone and he was always on the side of the underdog… If the basic goal of life is to give more than you get, Mr. Dunn would be happy to know he won his final game by a landslide." Ray was a regular church-goer and later in life attended St. Julia's parish in Lincoln/Weston and St. Timothy Church in Bristol, NH. He prayed for others, and enjoyed saying grace with his family.

Known for his conversational skills and storytelling prowess and "never letting the truth get in the way of a good story," Ray was interested in everyone he met and wanted to know their stories. He loved to help others, to be a mentor, and to give advice – lots of advice. Ray and his family, through St. Elizabeth, sponsored two sets of Vietnamese refugee brothers in the 1970's who lived in their home until they were settled. One of Ray's favorite stories was about helping Tu Ngoc Nguyen get his MA driver's license and almost getting thrown out of the back seat for his advice to the examiner.

Ray is survived by his wife; his son Jay (Raymond IV) and wife Melina Formisano and their children Tori and Joey (Raymond V) of Washington, DC; Martin Dunn, his wife Rachel Fine and their children Nathaniel, Claire and Caleb of Brooklyn, NY; Peter Dunn of Sarasota, FL; and his beloved daughter Margaret, her husband Eladi Bermudez and their twin daughters Isabel and Gemma of Belmont, MA. His sister Marianne died many years ago but he is survived by his brother Peter of Farmington, CT. They were very close and supportive of one another, especially through various health crises. He is also survived by a brother-in-law, sister-in-law, five nieces and nephews and many Manion and Dunn cousins.

The wake will be held at the Joyce Funeral Home, 245 Main St., Waltham, MA on Sunday, March 11 from 2:00 to 6:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Saint Julia Church, 374 Boston Post Rd.,Weston, MA at 11:00AM on Monday, March 12 and will be followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Por Cristo, Inc., 77 Warren Street, Brighton, MA 02135, www.porcristo.org which provides health care services for at-risk women and children in Ecuador or to The Mayhew Program, PO Box 120, Bristol, NH 03222, www.mayhew.org which provides interventions and services for at-risk teenagers.