Thomas H. Dunn

Thomas Harold Dunn, "The Tiger" age 80, passed away in the Philip Hulitar Hospice Center in North Providence, Rhode Island on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. Born in Attleborough, Massachusetts on December 6, 1937, he was the son of the late John and Alice (Davis) Dunn. He was raised in Wrentham, Massachusetts and attended Wrentham Public Schools. While in high school, Tom helped his family in subdividing their property and building homes.

While Tom was a young boy, his mother, Alice, worked as a midwife and helped with the birth of a baby named Mary A. Robson. It was at this time that Tom first laid eyes on his soulmate, though he didn't know it at the time. Tom became close friends with Mary's brother and later found the courage to ask her out. Tom and Mary were married on June 18, 1965 in Norfolk, Massachusetts. The young couple made their home together in Wrentham, where they welcomed their daughter, Debra. Tom took a position with SM Lorusso, working in building maintenance, and later took a job with Bonfatti. Tom retired as a Union Carpenter, working at Parker Express in Avon in 1987.

While he was a carpenter by trade, Tom's true passion was in auto racing. At the young age of 12, he began working on and building cars. Over the course of his racing career, he competed in 19 classes, including 17 championship dragsters and circle track cars all over the East Coast and Canada with his team, Dunn T-5 Racing. In 1964, Tom won the World Championship Drag Racing title at the Lebanon Valley Speedway in New York. Because of his outstanding track records, Tom was a Hall of Fame Member of both the Tyrod's Auto Club in Hudson and the New England Antique Auto Racers.

As he got older, Tom began transitioning out of cars and into boats. He enjoyed spending time aboard his 42-foot Bertran Motor Yacht, Tiger's Toy, as well as rebuilding marine motors for speed and economy at the Pleasant Seaview Marina in Warwick, Rhode Island. Tom regularly took his boat to Cuttyhunk and Block Island, however in 2000, he cruised to Miami, Florida, by way of the intercoastal and returned by way of the open ocean.

Beloved husband of Mary A. (Robson) Dunn.
Loving father of Debra Dunn of Wrentham.
Devoted brother of James Dunn and his wife Donna of Wrentham and John Dunn of Cape Cod.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend Tom's Life Celebration on Tuesday, March 27, 2018 from 4 to 7 PM in the James H. Delaney & Son Funeral Home, 48 Common Street, Walpole. Funeral service and interment will be private at the request of the family. In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to: The MSPCA, 350 South Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02130.