MANCHESTER – Juanita Mary (Vachon) Dunn, 73 of Manchester, died Thursday, March 9, 2023, at the Alfond Center for Health in Augusta following a brief illness.

She was born in Biddeford on April 8, 1949, to Reynold and Marguerite (Atkinson) Vachon. Juanita graduated from Bonny Eagle High School and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maine at Orono, where she met the love of her life.

Juanita was a stay-at-home mom for most of her life where she dedicated countless hours to raising her two children. Prior to having children, she worked as an elementary school teacher at both the Milo and Belgrade elementary schools.

Juanita was a proponent for being active and always started each day with an early morning walk near her house. She enjoyed exercise classes, hiking, and cross-country skiing with her close friends and family. She also loved cooking and appreciated eating good food while traveling locally, and always relished the occasional outing with her two sisters. When outside, Juanita’s favorite places to be were on the nordic ski trails at Sugarloaf, local hiking trails, or visiting the numerous beaches of Maine in the summer. Juanita was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Parish.

She is survived by her husband of 52 years, Dr. James Dunn of Manchester; two children, Jared Dunn and his wife Jessica of Newnan, Ga. and Jordanne Dunn and her husband Jacob Carlton of Hallowell; two sisters, Valerie Aliano of Old Saybrook, Conn. and Marie Rogers of Naples, Fla.; two uncles and two aunts, Richard “Sandy” and Beverly Atkinson and Charlotte and John Bryant both of Bar Mills; and two granddaughters, Analiese and Rosalie Dunn, a grandson, Jace Carlton, on the way; two nieces and a nephew, Natasha Senokosoff, Danielle Rogers, and Travis Senokosoff.

She was preceded in death by a sister, Suzanne Saucier.

Per her request, there will be no public visiting hours. Juanita wanted a party, so a celebration of life will be held later in the summer after the flowers have bloomed.

Please visit http://www.plummerfh.com to share a memory or leave a condolence message for Juanita’s family.

Donations can be made in her honor to the Kennebec Valley YMCA where she spent many hours with her children and loved to work out. Contributions can be made either through an online donation or a check.

For online donations, please go to https://kvymca.org/donate/.

For check donations, please mail the check to the address below. Please indicate that the donation is in memory of Juanita either online by checking the “dedicate this donation” box or in the memo section of a check.

Kennebec Valley YMCA,

Attn: Katelyn Orr,

31 Union St.,

Augusta, ME 04330

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