Daniel Geary Dunn

Daniel G. Dunn passed away peacefully on October 25, 2024, in his sleep after a brief illness. His longtime friend Beth Ann Nunes was by his side.

Daniel “Danny” G. Dunn was incredibly talented, hilarious, handsome, well dressed (he’d want to make sure that was noted), sensitive, complicated, and complex. He was a wild card always ready with a quick quip or pun. Danny was born the fifth of six children to Edward J. and Ellen (Geary) Dunn. He served in the United States army, where he was awarded the sniper ranking and assigned to the press unit as a photographer. The army reasoned that snipers would make the best photographers, with their steady hand under pressure. When directing folks how to “take a shot,” he often advised exhaling the moment before a click to keep the hand still for the camera. What could have been training to kill, Danny transformed into art.

After his service, Danny went on to pursue a career as a photojournalist for the Narragansett Times and the South County Independent. He recorded the every day beauty, humor, and poignancy of South County Rhode Island for almost 50 years, preserving the big and little moments of our community forever. Photos processed by Danny in his darkroom hang in homes, restaurants, and businesses throughout southern Rhode Island and beyond. A three time winner of “Photographer of the Year”, Danny’s captions were nearly as popular as his gorgeous photos, using the few words under an image to throw in a joke or bittersweet observation. He took immense pride in his work. Efforts are underway to preserve as much of his work as possible, in the hopes of creating a book of his photography.

He also took his time to save many early photos of Narragansett, RI taken in the 1800s/early 1900s. These restored photos only survived because Danny rescued their damaged glass plates in estate and garage sales throughout the 1970s/80s, blew them up using a projector in his basement at home, reprinted them large scale, touched up the scratches with sepia toned watercolors by hand, took the corrected image again, and created new restored negatives—in a time well before Photoshop! Such was his dedication to both photography and southern Rhode Island. When you see these historical photos hanging all over town or reprinted in books, particularly the only surviving set of photos to capture the Towers and Casino burning down in 1900, you can thank Danny Dunn.

He loved animals, especially cats, birds, and squirrels. He also adored trains, bicycling, fishing, building models, antiques, shoes with fun patterns, old doors with character, ghost stories, and his grandchildren. Speaking of which…

Danny leaves behind his two cherished grandchildren, Luke and Guinevere “Gwen” Faillace who loved Grampy Danny and his funny stories, fishing lessons, and talent for summoning squirrels. He also leaves behind his daughters Georgia Dunn and Grace Lawhorne, son-in-law Preston Lawhorne, and former son-in-law Ryan Faillace. He is survived by his former wife Charlene (Quinn) Dunn, his brothers Edward Dunn and Christopher Dunn, sisters Catherine Farmer, Renee Dunn, and Elizabeth Dunn, and former brother-in-laws Charles Quinn and Mark Quinn. He is pre-deceased by his father Edward J. Dunn and mother Ellen (Geary) Dunn, former brother-in-laws Matthew Quinn and Christopher Quinn, and dear friend Craig “Little Fox” Champlin. He will be deeply missed by his longtime friends Scott Weider, Beth Ann Nunes, Ernie Wolf, and Mario Frade and many nieces, nephews, and dear friends. Danny also leaves behind his two beloved cats, Hyphen and Frenchie.

He was one of a kind, and his keen observance of the world around him and its never-to-be-repeated moments will live on in his art. As he would have relished a chance to say in this moment, “…Dan’s Dunn.”

Visiting hours will be held from 1-3pm, with a funeral service immediately following at 3pm this Friday November 1st, in Avery-Storti Funeral Home, 88 Columbia St., Wakefield, RI.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the South County Animal Shelter.