Dunn's Death
Not too long after Dunn’s mayoral defeat in 1917 he suffered a major heart attack and passed away on September 1st, 1922. As reported by The Willimantic Chronicle Dunn had been experiencing pain throughout the day and was stricken by a fatal heart attack while walking on Main Street. He was rushed to St. Joseph’s Hospital but there was nothing that could be done. His wife, Julia Rice, whom he had married in 1889, held his funeral at their home on 205 Summit Street (directly adjacent to the Hilltop Hose Company). The Dunn’s home on Summit Street was constructed in 1893 for them in the lot adjacent to the cottage that Mr. Dunn’s father used to own. Mr. Dunn was buried in St. Joseph’s cemetery and the day he passed the flag at the state capitol was half masted in his honor.
Daniel P. Dunn’s successful life illustrates the social mobility the Irish were able to take advantage of in America. His parents were immigrants from Ireland and his father joined the army and settled his family in a nice house on Pleasant Street. Daniel went to school but left early to work in the mills where he earned a leadership position as a supervisor. He became a small business owner with Mr. Sweeney and ran a successful newspaper and tobacco shop. At the height of his mobility, he became a politician and bought a beautiful home high on the hill, on Summit Street. Dunn was a proud example of how a first-generation Irish could become a dynamic American. Allen Lincoln, an early town historian, also highlighted the Irish’s ability to climb the social ladder and find themselves in positions of political influence in his book, A Modern History of Windham County Connecticut.
