SCARBOROUGH – Dawn M. Lunney, age 94, passed away in her sleep on November 14, 2022 at the Scarborough Terrace assisted living facility in Scarborough, Maine.

She was predeceased by her beloved husband of over 72 years Boyd A. Lunney on September 21, 2020, by their first child Richard Lunney and by her two half-brothers Thomas Cragg and Robert Cragg. She is survived by son Timothy Lunney of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, daughter Barbara Cummings of Cape Elizabeth, Maine and son Thomas Lunney of Bath, Maine. In addition, she is survived by five grandchildren, six great grandchildren, three nieces and two nephews.

Dawn-Marie Howard was born on May 28, 1928 at Grand Falls, New Brunswick Canada to Pauline Mildred (Johnston) Howard and Donald Whitfield Howard. She was named after both her father Don and his favorite aunt Marie. Dawn Howard was born with dual Canadian and American citizenship because her father was a U.S. Army veteran and naturalized American citizen. Her father died of tuberculosis at only 29 years of age in January 1929. Per her father’s wishes Dawn was raised by her paternal grandparents James and Evelyn Howard at Aroostook Junction, New Brunswick. Her grandparents were both descendants of prominent United Empire Loyalist families who had been evacuated from New York to New Brunswick in 1783 at the end of the American Revolution. Her widowed mother Pauline also lived with them until she remarried to Dr. Thomas E. Cragg.

Dawn’s childhood had some memorable events. She attended the visit of King George and Queen Elizabeth to New Brunswick in 1939 and later that year she travelled to the 1939 New York World’s Fair. She attended local schools in Aroostook Junction, and spent summers with her mother, stepfather and two half-brothers at their beach house on the eastern shore of New Brunswick. In 1946 she enrolled at Mount Allison University at Sackville, New Brunswick. After college Dawn briefly worked for her twice-widowed mother Pauline Cragg who was the Registrar of Deeds at Dalhousie, New Brunswick. In order to retain her American citizenship, Dawn moved to Presque Isle, Maine where she worked for an insurance company. While working in Presque Isle, in 1947 she met a handsome young WWII veteran named Boyd Lunney at a local dance.

After a brief courtship, on November 27, 1947, Dawn-Marie Howard married Boyd Arthur Lunney at Andover, New Brunswick. The newlyweds first settled at Caribou, Maine. Dawn had been told by her doctors that because of adolescent surgery on her ovaries she could never have children. Unexpectedly, she gave birth to a son Richard Lunney in 1949, but then he died suddenly from encephalitis in 1950. Richard’s death was a tragedy from which she never fully recovered. A second son Timothy Lunney was born at Caribou in 1952, and a daughter Barbara Lunney was born there in 1954. Boyd’s career with New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. then took Dawn and her young family from Caribou to Waterville then to South Portland, Maine. After living in South Portland for a short time, in 1956 the couple purchased their first home in Cape Elizabeth. In 1960, a third son Thomas Lunney was born at Portland, Maine and the family moved to a larger home in Cape Elizabeth. In 1964, Boyd was transferred to Manchester, New Hampshire and they built a new home in Derry, New Hampshire where they lived until 1971 when Boyd was again transferred to Portland, Maine and they moved back to Cape Elizabeth.

For 55 years of their married life, Dawn and Boyd lived at Cape Elizabeth, Maine in four different houses, including 33 years in their retirement cottage on Richmond Terrace at Crescent Beach. During that period, they also spent 25 winters in St. Petersburg, Florida. Throughout their long-married life, they were very active in community organizations and social life. Dawn was an accomplished homemaker, cook and hostess, who entertained family, friends, neighbors and business associates with care and flair. Her talents, natural class and attention to detail made her frequent dinners and cocktail parties very memorable. She was a competitive bowler and an accomplished dancer. She studied various crafts like stained glass, pottery, needlepoint and even upholstery. Her favorite place was Crescent Beach where she would spend the months of summer perfecting her tan and socializing with a close circle of friends. Her favorite hobby was clothes shopping. She was considered to be a glamorous and good-looking woman by many but saw herself as plain and ordinary. She was never ordinary or plain.

In September 2018, Dawn and Boyd moved to Scarborough Terrace assisted living facility, where they would spend the remainder of their lives in comfort, cared for by a devoted and compassionate team of professional caregivers. Our family thanks the entire staff of Scarborough Terrace for their kindness and for providing a safe and loving home for Mom and Dad during their final years.

Memorial Service to be held at 11 a.m. on the 26th of November at Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Rd., South Portland ME.