Obituary of Phyllis Kearney Dunn

We are deeply saddened by the passing of Phyllis Kearney Dunn (September 4, 1942 - September 8, 2023), a long-time resident of Rye, NY, loving wife of Robert J. Dunn, proud mother of four boys, and loving grandmother of four boys. Phyllis passed away peacefully surrounded by her family just four days after her 81st birthday.

Born in Newburgh, NY, Phyllis was a competitive tennis player, swimmer, and golfer at the Powelton Club in Newburgh. Phyllis graduated from Newton College of the Sacred Heart with a major in Psychology.

Family and friends were making plans to celebrate Phyllis and Bob’s 60th wedding anniversary next summer in Sea Girt, NJ, where they met during their college years, became best friends, and fell in love. Phyllis and Bob married in the summer of ‘64 and eventually moved to Rye, NY, to raise their four sons. They joined The Apawamis Club in 1967 and made many lifelong friends.

Phyllis taught at a private school in Fairfax, VA, while Bob was stationed with the Army Strategic Communications Command HQ in Washington, DC. Their first son, Robert J. Dunn III, was born at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The bill for the entire procedure was $17.75 or, as Phyllis liked to say, “about $2.24 a pound.”

She was an avid reader and spent hours creating beautiful gardens and flower beds at their home on Osborn Road in Rye. Phyllis was devoted to her faith and family. She loved singing in the choir at St. Catharine’s Church in Pelham, taught CCD at St. Catharine’s and Resurrection Church in Rye, and was a loyal volunteer for more than 20 years at Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, NY. Rosary Hills' mission is to provide loving palliative care to those suffering from terminal cancer.

Phyllis loved life, her family, and the many close friends who loved her. She was predeceased by her youngest son, Matthew of Delray Beach, FL, who passed away after a long, courageous battle with cancer in 2021. Phyllis is survived by her husband Bob and their sons Robert (Susan) Dunn of Long Beach Island, NJ, James Dunn, Port Chester, NY, and Kevin (Peggy) Dunn of Long Beach, NY, and Ally Dunn of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada; four grandsons Bobby, Jack, Kevin, and Joseph; her sister, Ellen Kearney of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and daughters, Katherine, Kristina, and Elisabeth; her brother-in-law, Bill (Chris) Dunn; her sister-in-law, Betsy (Lawton) Thomas, and daughters Nora, Theresa, and Marie. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated by Reverend Peter F. Bannan at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY, on September 16 at 10:00 a.m. The Mass will be livestreamed for those who can not attend in person.  To view the livestream, please click here.  Interment will be at Greenwood Union Cemetery in Rye, followed by a reception at The Apawamis Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Rosary Hill Home, Hawthorne, NY.