By Lauren Stanforth
Times Union
ROTTERDAM, N.Y. — A Coeymans police officer and state Department of Corrections employee died Monday, eight days after his house caught on fire in Rotterdam.
Joseph L. Dunn Jr.'s home on Outer Drive in Rotterdam caught on fire the morning of Aug. 2 while he was asleep. An accounting in the Daily Gazette that day said the resident was on the front lawn of the home when firefighters arrived, and the patient was taken to Albany Medical Center Hospital for burns.
Dunn’s paid obituary said he was transferred to SUNY Upstate Medical University in Syracuse for treatment, where he “valiantly fought for his life, alongside an extraordinary medical team.” He died at the hospital on Monday.
“He will always be remembered as a very humble man, favoring the simplest things in life: sipping Stewart’s coffee, closely following the news, weather, and politics, giving the most hilarious birthday greeting cards, and his love of policing,” his obituary said.
Dunn, 60, a lifelong resident of Rotterdam, was a safety officer with the state Department of Corrections since 1984, working at the state Correctional Services Training Academy. He also served as a part-time Coeymans police officer since 1995.
“We remember Joe as one of the most thoughtful, kind and caring people you would ever meet,” the Coeymans police posted on its Facebook page. “No matter what the circumstances were, Joe was always there to lend a helping hand and would always offer support to those who needed it.”
Coeymans Police Chief Dan Contento said Thursday that Dunn continued to work as a part-time officer every week, despite being able to retire. “He helped out the community in any way he could,” Contento said.
Rotterdam police Lt. William Male said the preliminary investigation into the 10 a.m. fire suggests it was accidental in nature. Dunn awoke to the house ablaze, and was severely injured by the time he escaped. There were no other people in the house. The Coeymans police chief said Dunn was a dog lover, and his obituary notes that his dog, Kelly, also died as a result of the fire.
Dunn is survived by a sister, as well as nephews, nieces, aunts, an uncle and cousins.
Calling hours are 4 to 7 p.m. Friday at Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, 501 Union St. Schenectady. Services with full police honors will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Rossi & Ditoro Funeral Home, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial at noon in St. Luke’s Church, 1241 State St., Schenectady. Interment will follow at a later date in the Most Holy Redeemer, Niskayuna.
Memorial contributions in the names of Dunn and his dog, Kelly, can be made to Mr. Mo’s Project at mrmoproject.com, an organization providing ongoing support for senior dogs and their foster families.
———
©2020 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)