[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 76 (Monday, May 18, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2969-S2970]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO JERRY DUNFEY

  Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, I wish to extend my best wishes 
to Jerry Dunfey on his 80th birthday this Saturday and to salute his 
lifetime of remarkable achievements as a business leader and political 
activist.
  Jerry is one of 12 siblings born to Catharine and Leroy Dunfey, who 
emigrated from Ireland, worked in the textile mills of Lowell, MA, and 
later opened a small clam stand in Hampton, NH. In the years since, the 
Dunfeys have gone on to become one of the grand families of Granite 
State business and politics.
  As a teenager, Jerry went to work managing Dunfey's Restaurant at 
Hampton Beach and then made his way through the University of New 
Hampshire by working at the family's restaurant in Durham. He and his 
brothers went on to operate other restaurants, acquired small inns 
across New England, and founded Dunfey Hotels, which under subsequent 
owners became Omni Hotels.
  In 1968, they purchased the historic Parker House hotel in Boston, 
where they found the archives of the 19th century Saturday Club salon, 
which included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and 
Oliver Wendell Holmes. Jerry Dunfey reincarnated this famous club by 
founding what would become known as the Global Citizens Circle. Since 
1974, the circle has brought together elected officials, activists, and 
ordinary citizens to debate leading issues, advocate for civil

[[Page S2970]]

rights, and promote peaceful change in South Africa, Northern Ireland, 
and across the globe. Under auspices of the circle, Jerry has brought 
to New Hampshire speakers ranging from Archbishop Desmond Tutu to 
Ambassador Andrew Young to Arn Chorn-Pond, a survivor of the Cambodian 
killing fields. Hundreds of circle forums have been convened in 
Belfast, Soweto, Jerusalem, Havana, and in cities across the United 
States.
  Jerry and his wife Nadine Hack have a long history of engagement in 
the U.S. civil rights movement, including a close friendship with the 
family of Martin Luther King, Jr. They both served on the board of the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, read a 
psalm at Coretta Scott King's private family funeral, and were honorary 
pall bearers at her larger public funeral. They also have close ties 
with leaders of South Africa's liberation movement and were guests of 
state at Nelson Mandela's inauguration as President in 1994.
  For more than six decades, the large Dunfey and Kennedy families have 
been closely intertwined in both friendship and politics--though Ted 
Kennedy used to joke that, when it came to children, ``the Dunfeys are 
size 12 but the Kennedys are only size 9.'' Jerry was close friends 
with John, Bobby, and Ted Kennedy, dating back to the 1950s, and John 
announced for the Presidency in 1960 at a Dunfey hotel in Manchester. 
In 2009, Jerry and Nadine had the singular honor of sitting in the 
final hour of vigil by Ted Kennedy's casket at the JFK Presidential 
Library.
  Jerry Dunfey's activism in progressive politics has continued 
strongly into the second decade of the 21st century. He and Nadine have 
had five children and six grandchildren, and they are especially proud 
that all three generations of their family actively campaigned for 
President Barack Obama. Now on the cusp of his ninth decade, Jerry is 
retired but far from retiring.
  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said, ``Life's most persistent and 
urgent question is: What are you doing for others?'' Across a lifetime 
in public life, Jerry Dunfey has answered that question in powerful 
ways: fighting for civil rights, advancing the cause of social and 
economic justice here at home, and promoting peace and reconciliation 
across the globe. I congratulate Jerry on his 80th birthday and send my 
best wishes to Nadine, their children and grandchildren, and the entire 
Dunfey clan. They have contributed so much to the civic life of our 
State and our country. 

                          ____________________