[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 130 (Thursday, July 23, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4460-S4461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    REMEMBERNG JOHN ``JACK'' DUNFEY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. Presient, the global community has lost one of our 
most active advocates for peace. On June 22, John Philip Dunfey passed 
away. Known as Jack to his many friends around the world, he was a 
World War II veteran, founder and CEO of Omni Hotels International, and 
the owner of Parker House. His impact, however, was far wider. Jack was 
an ardent supporter of social justice issues throughout his life.
  Jack lead human rights missions to many corners of the world, helping 
to free prisoners in Cuba, remove landmines in Angola and monitor the 
election in South Africa won by Nelson Mandela.
  Jack was the founder and chairman of the Global Citizens Circle, 
fostering

[[Page S4461]]

cross-cultural and intergenerational dialogue about important social 
change. Together with friends on both sides of the aisle, Dunfey was 
appointed by President Ronald Reagan to the commission that founded the 
U.S. Institute for Peace. He was also a founding board member of the 
American Ireland Fund, an organization working to bring peace to 
Ireland. These important organizations will far outlive Jack, 
continuing his legacy and helping to improve lives across the globe.
  He lived a life true to his favorite saying, ``We make a living by 
what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'' Jack gave 
abundantly, and the world owes him a debt of gratitude.
  My thoughts are with Jack's wife, Lisa, and their family during this 
difficult time.
  I ask unanimous consent that the full obituary for John Philip Dunfey 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

   Dunfey, John Philip Founder and Chairman, Global Citizens Circle; 
  Founder and CEO, Omni Hotels International Also Owned and Renovated 
                        Parker House (1968-1988)

       John Philip Dunfey, a World War II veteran who dedicated 
     much of his life to fostering world peace and social justice, 
     died at age 96 on June 22, 2020, in Hampton, NH. Known as 
     ``Jack'' to friends, he spent decades of behind-the-scenes 
     work in support of causes such as the peace process in 
     Northern Ireland and human rights efforts in South Africa, 
     Cuba, Central America, South America, and the Middle East. 
     Notably, Dunfey spearheaded his family's efforts in 1974 to 
     launch Global Citizens Circle. Originally known as New 
     England Circle, the not-for-profit entity continues its 
     mission almost 50 years later to ``. . . gather diverse, 
     intergenerational voices addressing critical issues and 
     building the trust needed for sustainable change in 
     ourselves, our nation, and our world.''
       Dunfey was born in Lowell, MA, on January 7, 1924, to 
     former millworkers, Catherine A. Manning and LeRoy W. Dunfey. 
     The fifth of twelve children, Jack began his work career as 
     did all his siblings at a very young age in his parents' 
     small luncheonette in the Acre section of Lowell. After 
     graduating from Lowell's Keith Academy, Jack joined the U.S. 
     Air Force in 1943, attaining the rank of first lieutenant 
     while serving as a B-24 and B-29 pilot instructor.
       Following his honorable discharge in 1946, he earned his 
     Bachelor of Science degree in business at the University of 
     New Hampshire in 1952. He also led his family's business. 
     From 1950 to 1988, the enterprise expanded from New England-
     area luncheonettes, clam stands, and pizza shops to the 
     Dunfey Hotel Corporation, whose hallmark became refurbishing 
     downtrodden inner-city hotels. When the Corporation acquired 
     Omni Hotels International--with its dozens of properties 
     worldwide, including London and Paris--Jack kept the 
     corporate headquarters rooted in Hampton, NH, to help 
     preserve the close employee-management relationship that was 
     so much a part of the early family business. The acquisition 
     and restoration of the historic Parker House Hotel in Boston 
     in 1968--in the era of assassinations, the Vietnam War, and 
     Civil Rights Movement--provided Jack and his siblings a 
     prominent base to advance their beliefs in social justice.
       For many years, he led human rights missions into neglected 
     corners of the world with his personal goal of releasing 
     political prisoners. His favorite saying was: ``We make a 
     living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.'' 
     He was kind, thoughtful and generous with his immediate and 
     extended family and with the larger human family. The 
     missions to Cuba, for his meetings with Fidel Castro, led to 
     the release of 87 prisoners, the removal of landmines in 
     Angola, and the freeing up of food supplies to enter 
     Ethiopia.
       While a staunch Democrat, Jack was noted for working across 
     party lines to achieve his objectives. In 1984 President 
     Ronald Reagan, a staunch Republican, appointed Dunfey as one 
     of the nine-member commission founders of the United States 
     Institute for Peace, tasked with promoting conflict 
     resolution and peace worldwide. Jack was also a founding 
     board member of the American Ireland Funds. He and his 
     brothers, Bob and Walter, were recognized as bridge-builders 
     and advocates of cross-community dialogue during the Troubles 
     in Northern Ireland. When John Hume and David Trimble were 
     awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, they invited Jack and 
     Bob to travel with them and their families to Oslo. That same 
     year, Jack was also appointed an independent, international 
     monitor in South Africa's historic first election of Nelson 
     Mandela as president.
       Jack is survived by his wife, Lisa Timpe Dunfey, Boston, 
     MA; three children, Susan Dunfey, Rye, NH; David Dunfey, 
     Sebastian, Florida; Stephen Dunfey, Portsmouth, NH; and three 
     siblings, Eileen Dunfey Robinson, Bradenton, Florida; Jerry 
     Dunfey and his wife, Nadine Hack, Lutry, Switzerland; Eleanor 
     Dunfey and her husband, James Freiburger, Exeter, NH; and 
     many nieces, nephews and cousins whom he cherished. Jack was 
     preceded in death by his son, Philip; and Joan Lannan Dunfey, 
     the mother of his children, as well as eight siblings: Roy, 
     Paul, Kay, Mary, Bud ``Bill,'' Robert ``Bob,'' Richard 
     ``Dick,'' and Walter. Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the 
     family plans a Memorial to celebrate Jack's life at a later 
     date.

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