COOPERSTOWN – John Dunlap, a local contractor known for his passionate concerns for truth and social justice, peacefully entered into eternal life Wednesday afternoon, October 1, 2025, at the New York State Veterans Home in Oxford with his family attending him in his last days. He was 85.
Born August 12, 1940, in New Rochelle he was given the name “Harold Jay Dunlap, Jr.” by his parents, Harold Jay Dunlap, M.D. and Rae Marguerite née Scranton Dunlap. A self-described “willful kid” he wanted to go by a first name of his own choosing, and picked the name “John” after his grandfather’s first name (John Jay Dunlap was named after John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the United States.)
John was raised in Westchester County, first living in Larchmont and then Scarsdale. During his high school years, he attended The Taft School in Watertown, CT. After graduating from there, he attended and earned a bachelor’s degree from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, where he was a humanities major with a concentration in English.
In boarding school, college, and his 5 ½ years in the United States Air Force, he enjoyed and excelled in playing football.
During his years in the military, John lived abroad in Asia. On his return to the United States in 1969 he joined International Voluntary Services, a precursor to the Peace Corps. He served as a college-level teacher in Laos for two years, then returned to the States and attended graduate school in northern Arizona. He then moved to Indonesia where he served as a teacher under a Fulbright Scholarship. It was during his years in Asia that the experiences and lifestyles he encountered shaped the simple lifestyle he led throughout the rest of his life.
In 1976, John once again returned to the States. With his friend, Leonard, he visited Cooperstown and wound up liking it so much that he decided to settle down in this area. He made a home for himself out of an old garage near The Hickory Grove Inn on State Highway 80. Shortly thereafter he began renovating a camp on Red House Hill Road which became his home. At his suggestion, The Presbyterian Church sponsored a Hmong family from Laos, bringing them from a refugee camp in Thailand to the U.S. The Lee family, a mother and five children lived with him for nine months. At that time, he was teaching school in Cherry Valley, but became disillusioned with the America educational system, quit teaching, and started his restoration contracting business in 1981.
About the same time, John met Karen Muehl, and they were married and had two children, Sarah Elizabeth and Timothy Andrew. It was John and Karen’s desire that their children should experience a different culture, so in December of 1992, they all moved to Monterrey, Mexico. John taught English at the Instituto Technológico de Monterrey. The family returned to Cooperstown in June of 1994.
During his years in the Cooperstown area, John was an active, devoted and faithful member of The First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, where he sang with The Chancel Choir and served on various boards and committees. His commitment to peace and justice led him to travel to Nicaragua with Witness for Peace in 1985. Locally, he invested in rental properties in part to improve low income housing options in the area.
John is survived by his wife, Karen Dunlap; their children, Sarah Dunlap and Tim Dunlap; two grandsons, Chase Dunlap and Jude Dunlap; sister Betsy (Jack) Erhard and brother George (Ann) Dunlap; and many nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his niece, Jennifer Robin Stinnett.
A Memorial Service to the Glory of God and in Thanksgiving for the Life of John Dunlap will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 9, 2025, at The First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, 67 Pioneer Street, Cooperstown, with the Rev. Jessica Lambert, Pastor officiating. Immediately following the service there will be a time for refreshment and fellowship in The Chapel.
To honor John’s memory, memorial donations would be appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Association (www.alz.org) and The First Presbyterian Church of Cooperstown, to the attention of the Social Action Mission Team, 25 Church Street, Cooperstown, NY 13326.
Arrangements are under the care and guidance of the Connell, Dow & Deysenroth Funeral Home in Cooperstown.
If you would like to send condolences to the family, send an email to Connell, Dow & Deysenroth. We will forward your comments to the family. If you would like to send flowers in memory of the deceased, contact Mohican Flowers at (607) 547-8822, or A Rose is a Rose at (607) 264-3100.
