Remembering Dot and Joe Dunleavy

As a young woman, Dorothy Ann Zimmer went to a party given by Joe’s younger brother, Jimmy. It was there that Dorothy met Joseph T. Dunlevy, her forever love.

Their wedding on May 15, 1943, was the beginning of a marriage that lasted 51 years, until Joe’s death in 1994. As teenagers, both Dot and Joe lived in Baisley Park, Queens, she on the German side and he on the Irish side.

They didn’t know each other until the party, and it didn’t matter to them that they came from different parts of their hometown - they knew they were meant to be together.

The Coast Guard and WAVES

But war was looming on the horizon at this time and war often meant separation, but Dot wasn’t going to let that happen to her and Joe.

Knowing that the country was heading in the direction of war, Joe had enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1939. He was assigned to the U.S.S. Spencer, a Coast Guard cutter that cleared the way for big ships bringing equipment to Europe. The Spencer, along with the U.S.S. Wakefield, worked as escorts searching for torpedoes and German subs in the cold North Atlantic Ocean.

It was a dangerous job, especially as Joe worked in the engine room and there would probably be no escaping a hit by a torpedo. Their homeport was Boston, Massachusetts.

During this time President Franklin Delano Roosevelt established armed forces enabling women to enlist. Included in the services was the WAVES — Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, a division of the U.S. Navy.

Hoping to meet up with Joe in Boston, Dot enlisted in the WAVES. She left from Queens on Oct. 8, 1942, and headed to Indiana for training.

Destination: Boston

After training, she was stationed in ... Boston.

Since Dot and Joe were in the service at the time of their wedding, both are wearing their uniforms in their wedding photos. At the time of their discharges from the service, Dot as a sergeant outranked Joe who was a corporal.

Dot’s job with the WAVES was to go aboard ships that docked in Boston and pay the sailors with cash. This meant going up and down stairs to pay the men.

Keep in mind at this time, all women in the armed forces had to wear skirts. Dot found this disconcerting, not to her liking. But other than this complaint, she served until she became pregnant in 1944 and was discharged. So Janice, the Dunlevy’s first daughter, was born in Boston.

Working ‘hard to build a life for their family in Goshen’

When Joe was discharged in 1945, he and Dot decided to settle in Goshen. Close friends who they visited in Pine Island introduced them to Orange County.

Orange County, especially Goshen, seemed to be the perfect place to settle and raise their family. All of their following five children were born in the Goshen Hospital: Patricia in 1946; Eileen in 1948; Kathleen in 1950; Brian in 1953 and Michele in 1959.

“My parents worked hard to build a life for their family in Goshen,” said daughter Kathleen Kubek. Calling her a “fantastic” mom, Kathy said her mom was caring and involved with all her children.

For instance, she was a Girl Scout leader, Cub Scout leader, chauffeured everyone to practices and, along with gardening vegetables, she canned and froze her produce to serve at meals. Sewing was high on Dot’s list, making clothes for her daughters that included two wedding gowns.

“We did lots of family things,” said Kathy, “like tapping trees for maple syrup, picking strawberries and making jam, cross country skiing and some biking.”

Dot had said she was glad that after high school she went to beautician school, because with having so many girls, she was able to cut hair. What a savings that talent was.

Dot was a busy and loving Mom while raising her six children, but she cared about community, too. Among other volunteer work, she volunteered her time at Arden Hill Hospital for 44 years.

LET JOE FIX IT

Meanwhile, Joe was establishing himself in business. He started in 1946 by opening a shop on Greenwich Avenue, at the corner of Greene Street, with a sign out front that read: LET JOE FIX IT.

“He was handy. He could fix anything,” said son and Goshen resident Brian Dunlevy, listing repairing toasters, washing machines, bikes and much more kept him busy.

In 1948, Joe moved his shop to Railroad Avenue (currently a sneaker store); then in 1953, he opened up a Joe Fix It store at 20 W. Main Street where it still exists today.

At that time, Joe included toys, hobbies and train sets at his Main Street venue.

“Although Mom may have outranked him in the service,” Brian said, “Dad made it clear that when she helped out at the store, he was the boss!”

Currently, Brian is running the store that features a large selection of bicycles and figure and hockey ice skates.

‘I’m proud ... that I went into the service’

The Dunlevy’s had a long and happy marriage, raising six children and running a successful business. Joe passed away in 1994 at age 76; Dot recently passed away in November at nearly 99 years of age.

“Overall,” Kathy said, “Mom was proud of her children, their family life, the life she created with Dad, but before her death she commented, ‘I’m proud, too, that I went into the service.’”