Doreen Crawford Dun (née Doreen Joyce Crawford) died of ovarian cancer on June 18, 2024, roughly six years after her diagnosis. “Dodo,” as she was known by many, passed away peacefully in her home on Ocean Point, Maine, where she had lived for decades. She was surrounded by her adoring children and grandchildren, and she had time for final goodbyes from numerous friends from her Ocean Point, Boothbay, Peekskill, and Wellesley College communities. It is gutting to lose someone as dear, smart, and kind as Dodo, but it helps both that she had a beautiful, love-filled death and to see her many friends cherish her. 

Doreen was the child of Scottish immigrants. She was born in Staten Island, New York, and grew up both there and in Summit, New Jersey.  Her parents, Jessie Richmond (Todd) Crawford and Thomas Barbour Crawford moved to and were married in the U.S., but ensured that she and her sister, Helen Katherine, had deep connections to their Scottish roots and to their extended family.  During their childhoods, they regularly “crossed the Pond” to spend summer months with their aunts, uncles, and cousins in Rutherglen and on the Isle of Arran.    

Doreen married a Scottish immigrant, James Landale (Jim) Dun.  Although Jim grew up near Doreen, he was born in Edinburgh, and, like her, had strong Scottish ties.  Doreen’s and Jim’s families spent holidays together, sent their daughters to the same schools, and lived in the same communities (first in Staten Island, then in Summit and Ocean Point).  Jim was a fixture in Doreen’s life from early on: repairing things in her family house, helping her move after college, and eventually winning her over with the steadfast, quiet, selfless care that he showed her throughout their 53 years of marriage.  (This took some time.  He did refer to young Doreen as “Fatso,” and she regularly reported that her early impressions of Jim led her to believe that, “If this is what boys are like, I am glad I have a sister!”)  Jim was a devoted and stalwart spouse , supporting, often admiring, and regularly benefitting from the ways in which he and Doreen were different, and enjoying the many ways in which they were the same: putting their children and families before all else; forging genuine and respectful relationships with people from a variety of cultures and backgrounds; giving back to their communities; reveling in the natural beauty of Coastal Maine; and delighting in the antics of their numerous, beloved, ridiculous dogs. 

Doreen started her educational career at PS 48 in Staten Island, earned her high school degree from The Kent Place School, a bachelor of arts from Wellesley College, and a master’s degree in international affairs from Georgetown University.  She especially treasured her time at Wellesley, which both provided some of her closest friends and fondest memories and sparked her life-long passion for learning.   

Doreen was an inveterate reader, a habitual wonderer, and an insatiable question-asker. She enjoyed studying foreign languages and marveled when learning about different cultures, times, and places. She also relished travel and, in addition to numerous visits to the UK, explored Kenya (with her daughter), Greece, Turkey, Israel, Oman, Russia,  and many European cities and towns. When she wasn’t traveling or conversing, Doreen was reading.  She took particular joy in her voluminous home library, which contained a wide array of well-thumbed tomes, ranging from Homer to Shakespeare to Chinua Achebe to Emily Dickinson; she was still eyeball-deep in several histories and novels when she died.   

Doreen’s career included a variety of positions in higher education, government, and philanthropy, and she spent the bulk of her working years as a part-time consultant to the Ford Foundation.  She worked between one and four days a week there, enjoying the commute, time in New York City, collegiality, and the opportunity to write and coach others in writing reports about grants made to a range of non- Governmental organizations and nonprofit organizations.   

Of course, Dodo also was a profoundly loving and beloved wife, mother, and grandmother.  Her daughter, Catherine Crawford Dun Rappaport, and son, James Alexander (Alec) Dun, were and are blessed to have been raised by such an interested, engaging, funny, intelligent, passionate person. Both of us considered her a friend. She was someone whom we could turn to as a thought-partner, advocate, and companion, and who loved our spouses: Hugh Dun Rappaport and Kelly Jenkins Dun, and our children: James Crawford, Julia Elizabeth, and Linnea Hope Dun Rappaport, and Mairi Alice and James William (Liam) Dun almost as much we do.  We are honored to be her children, and we will apply the many lessons she taught us (mostly by example) throughout our lives. Some of those lessons include: Build and savor community.  Cherish your loved ones—and tell them that.  Learn—forever! Ask questions, listen to answers. Admit to being wrong. Laugh at yourself. And, when you are diagnosed with a terminal disease that renders you handicapped and unable to drive, and causes you significant and regular pain, read a book, chat with your children, travel, savor your loved ones, enroll in a class or several at the New England Senior College, and focus on the positive. We are still learning from Dodo, even now, and we are profoundly thankful for that. 

Doreen is survived by her children, grandchildren, sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Dun) Colten, brother-in- law, Richard Colten, niece, Ann Colten, and nephews Jerold Colten, Edward (Ted), Thomas, and David Gibbon, as well as many great nephews and nieces and a host of Scottish cousins.   

A service of remembrance will be held at the Congregational Church of Boothbay Harbor on Friday, July 5 at 3 p.m. The service will be viewable on the church’s YouTube channel. 

In lieu of flowers, those who wish to honor Dodo’s memory with a donation may do so by contributing to the Community Resource Council, which provides a variety of supports and services to economically disadvantaged Boothbay residents (https://www.crcboothbay.org/), to MoveOn.org, which champions a variety of causes that align with Dodo’s values (https://front.moveon.org/) or by donating to the Biden Campaign (https://joebiden.com/).    

Arrangements are under the care and direction of Hall Funeral Home of Boothbay. To offer online condolences, or to share a story or photo, visit Dodo’s Book of Memories at www.hallfuneralhomes.com.