Lake Forest Obituary: Maurice "Moose" Francis Dunne, Jr.

Maurice (“Moose”) Francis Dunne, Jr., 92 years old, passed away peacefully in his sleep on January 19, 2019, in Clearwater, Florida.

Born in Chicago, IL on November 30, 1926, and a longtime-resident of Lake Forest, IL, Harbor Springs, MI, and Clearwater, FL, he was proceeded in death by his wife of 50 years, Eleanor “Ellie” Isham Dunne, and is survived by his sons, Ralph & Meath (Teresita) Dunne; his granddaughters, Katherine & Eleanor Dunne; and his daughter, Tara (Keith) Stocker.

Moose, as he was known to all, was a true Renaissance man; relentlessly curious, endlessly passionate and thoroughly meticulous in everything he did. He took particular pride in his service to the nation as a Merchant Marine in WWII, and was proud to boast both early and often, “WWII Veterans for Obama,” much to the consternation of some of his good friends in his many coffee groups.

His war-time service interrupted his college education, which was conducted at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, and University of Michigan, the latter two for which he played football in the tradition of Dunne men playing collegiate ball, another point of great personal pride, as was his membership of the Delta Kappa Epsilon DKE fraternity. He went on to receive his MBA from Harvard University.

He identified strongly as an Irish Catholic, becoming a ‘Knight of the Holy Sepulchre’ (a Roman Catholic order of knighthood) and valued faith, family, tradition and public service above all else, frequently reflecting on his memories of his grandfather, Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne, the only person to serve as both Governor of Illinois and Mayor of Chicago.

After an early career in advertising, Moose was appointed CEO of the Advanced Management Institute, ultimately transforming it into the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, a multi-campus leader in the Midwest of online and offline MBA programs. He was a vigorous proponent of education, serving on the boards of schools as varied as Lake Forest College, Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, The Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, and Walsh College of Accounting. Informally, he counseled countless high school students on college admissions and selections, as well as many more recent college graduates in pursuit of a career or life counseling.

In his retirement, he loved nothing more than pursuing his own education through Rotary, international travel, reading, and summer sessions at the Bay View Association in Petoskey, MI, as well as winter sessions at OLLI–the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Eckerd College, FL, where he loved attending lectures, panels, concerts, and plays. He also loved golf, which he played at clubs as varied as Onwentsia and Shoreacres (IL), Wequetonsing and Bay Harbor Golf Clubs (MI), and Belleaire Golf and Country Club (FL).

One of his favorite books was Tom Brokow’s The Greatest Generation, of which he was one of the last survivors.

Memorial services will be held at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart, 760 E. Woodleigh Road, Lake Forest, IL, at 2 p.m. on Saturday, February 9, 2019. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the New England Center for Children, 33 Turnpike Rd., Southborough, MA 01722 or the Red Cloud Indian School, 100 Mission Drive, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, SD 57770. Info: Wenban Funeral Home (847) 234-0022 or www.wenbanfh.com