Dennis Paulsen Remembered As Resident Who Worked To Make Framingham Better, Family Man

Town Meeting member Dennis Paulsen died unexpectedly last Thursday.

His friend Christine Long has established a fund, “on behalf of his memory to help his family to defray funeral expenses and associated costs incurred with his untimely passing.”

The goal of the Dennis Paulsen Memorial Fund is to raise $8,000.

To contribute to the fund visit: www.gofundme.com/c8i8ks

“We are all saddened and devastated by his passing and wish to express our deepest sympathies and help the family as much as possible to lessen their sadness and pain. He will be sorely missed,” said Long.

Wednesday, friends and family can pay their respects at the Eugene J. McCarthy and Sons Funeral Home, 11 Lincoln St., Framingham from 5 - 8 p.m.

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“I had the pleasure and privilege of knowing Dennis since 2006 when I joined Town Meeting,” said Framingham Selectman Mike Bower. “Dennis was tireless in his efforts on behalf of the citizens of Framingham. He passionately fought for the issues he believed in at Town Meeting and before various town boards.”

After many years of Town Meeting service, where he served on the Standing Committee for Public Works, Paulsen recently ascended to the Chair of that committee, said Bower.

“He was an articulate and well informed Chair of this important committee and was extremely persuasive at Town Meeting on behalf of various DPW projects,” said Bower. “I most recently saw Dennis at the service day in Framingham organized by Bose Corporation. He was doing what he always has done ... working on behalf of the citizens of Framingham.”

“Dennis was a guy who was deeply devoted to the Town of Framingham. He was a dedicated and thoughtful Town Meeting member, who often saw the bigger picture which gave him a better perspective on the issues at hand,” said fellow Town Meeting member Janet Leombruno. “Dennis was always the first to step up and offer to help with the local election of one of his many friends. He was one of the good ones, and he will be missed.”

“Dennis cared a great deal about Framingham, and worked to make our town a better place,” said Framingham Selectman Cheryl Tully Stoll. “He will be missed.”

“As ‘the new guy,’ Dennis was a terrific mentor to me. If I didn’t fully understand an issue, or needed to bounce an idea off someone, he always made himself available to provide guidance and counsel,” said fellow Precinct 9 Town Meeting member Mike Cannon. “He was always focused on the issue; it was never personal. Dennis always kept an open mind, but was highly-skilled at educating other members on his perspective. He changed a lot of minds in that room; not an easy feat.”

“He had a gift for taking complicated issues and making them concise and digestible for town meeting members; many of whom lacked his familiarity and experience with finance and public works. He often raised points that nobody had thought of. Dennis was an asset to Town Meeting and to our entire community,” said Cannon. “Dennis was a gentleman, and a gentle man. I will miss him dearly”.

“Dennis Paulsen was a very committed Town Meeting Member helping the Town of Framingham move forward and very effective on issues affecting Precinct 9. He was the ideal Town Meeting Member,” said Maureen Dunne.

Our deepest condolences to his family,” said Maureen and her husband Pat Dunne, who both served with Paulsen in Precinct 9.

Town Moderator Teri Banerjee said Dennis was an “active Town Meeting member as well as a productive and informed chair of the Standing Committee on Public Works. My heart goes out to his family. He will be missed at Town Meeting - and I will also miss him as chair of the committee.”

Banerjee said he was always prepared and gave an example. She said she had encouraged and asked committee chairs to be ready at the microphone to give their reports.

“At different times, Dennis would be standing at the microphone and I would ask him why he was there? Then, I realized that he had followed my instructions to be ready at the mic to give his report,” said Banerjee.

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Please feel free to post your memories of Dennis Paulsen in the comments below.