William Putnam Dunham, Sr.
December 16, 1917 – May 16, 2000

William Putnam Dunham, 82, of Naples, Fla., East Orleans, Mass., and St. Huberts, died Tuesday, May 16, 2000, in Naples.

He was born Dec. 16, 1917, in New York City, the son of Lawrence B. and Vryling (Putnam) Dunham. Mr. Dunham attended the Riverdale Country School in Riverdale, the Rectory School in Pomfret, Conn., the Rumford School in Washington, Conn., and Columbia University, where he was a member of Delta Psi. His studies were cut short when his National Guard Unit, Squadron A, 101st Cavalry, was mobilized in January 1941. He was a member of the New York National Guard and served overseas in China and India for 39 months during World War II as a captain and liaison officer in the Chinese Combat Command.

After the war, Mr. Dunham was a district sales manager for the Stokey Van Camp Honor brand products, General Foods Corp., where he rose to group advertising manager. In 1964, he founded Dunham Luttmann O’Brien Inc. Marketing Consultants and served as its president. He served as chairman of the Riverdale Community Planning Board for three terms, vice-chairman of the Riverdale Civil Defense Board and was a past councilman and deputy supervisor of the Town of New Castle for nine years.

Mr. Dunham was a member of the American Legion, Marcy Post; a past president and trustee of the Adirondack Mountain Reserve — Ausable Club; past president of the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society; the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks; a trustee of the Keene Valley Neighborhood House; the ALS Association (Orlando, Fla. chapter); St. Anthony Club-Delta Psi, NYC; member of the Board of Governors & Executive Committee of the Squadron A Club, NYC; and the Riverdale Yacht Club.

Mr. Dunham will be missed and loved by his wife, Edie; his children and their spouses, Sally Taylor, Bill and Nelie Dunham Jr., and Ann and Mike Hartson; his grandchildren, Kristen and Kevin Taylor, Henry and Melanie Dunham and Hilary and Brooke Hartson. His daughter Susan Hope Dunham died in 1988.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, May 27, 2000, at 1 p.m. at the Keene Valley Congregational Church. Burial will be in Norton Cemetery in Keene. Memorial donations may be made to the Keene Valley Neighborhood House or the Adirondack Trail Improvement Society, both of Keene Valley.