Edward Dunn, 87: Many Relatives Cherished Him As Their Family Leader

Edward Dunn never married. He never had his own children. But his love for family, relatives say, was unmatched. In some ways, he was the quintessential family man.

"The thing that really made him tick was his family," said Ned Dunn, one of Edward Dunn's many nephews. "He was a lifelong bachelor, but he was really the head of our family. We'd have an annual family gathering at his house and it was something that none of us would miss. He was a treasure for the family. He was our leader."

Edward Dunn, 87, also known by his family as "Uncle Ed," was a Washington native and member of one of Seattle's earliest and most successful families.

He died last Monday (Sept. 30) after a long illness. A funeral Mass is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Christ the King Church in North Seattle.

His father, Arthur G. Dunn, arrived in Seattle from a small town in upstate New York in 1889. That same year, Arthur and another partner, Elton Ainsworth, started a fish business at the corner of Second Avenue and Pike Street.

They called it Ainsworth and Dunn Co.

As business prospered, they decided to build Pier 8, which is now Pier 59, the site of the Seattle Aquarium.

In 1901, as the company grew, the partners decided to have Pier 14 built to help them accommodate more business. During his early years, Edward Dunn rarely spent time around the pier or at his father's fish shop while he was a student, at Summit School, Broadway High School and later the University of Washington.

His early occupation was banking. But it wasn't long before he accepted the responsibilities of managing Pier 14, duties he held at times for several decades. He demonstrated in the late 1960s some of the remarkable business acumen his father had shown about 80 years earlier. That's when he helped develop Pier 14 from a working warehouse to a collection of some of Seattle's most popular and lively waterfront shops and restaurants.

Today, it is known as Pier 70. But he never forgot his father's legacy. The business name his father and his partner had at the turn of the century - Ainsworth and Dunn Wharf - remains etched at the top of the entrance into the shops.

"My uncle had been impressed with some of the things that had been done in San Francisco, and he believed they could be done here," Ned Dunn said.

While he loved the challenge of banking and development, he was equally fascinated by nature, the environment and each person's social responsibility.

Mr. Dunn was a member of the board of directors of the Mount St. Vincent Foundation, which funds housing for low-income elderly residents. He was also once a president of the Greater Seattle Chapter of the Izaak Walton League of America, an organization committed to wildlife and habitat preservation.

"He was also a gardener," Ned Dunn said. "It was another great love of his life." He was a president of the American Rhododendron (the state flower) Society. A hybrid of the flower was named after him. It is called the Edward B. Dunn Rhododendron.

"I would certainly describe him as a gentleman of the old school," said Ned Dunn.

Mr. Dunn is survived by a brother, Arthur Dunn of Seattle; two sisters, Gertrude Dunn Jackson of Walla Walla and Dorothy Dunn Bayley of Seattle; 10 nieces and nephews, and 27 of their descendants.

Another brother, Maurice S. Dunn, died in 1981.

The family suggests memorial contributions be sent to the Mount St. Vincent Foundation, 4831 35th Southwest, Seattle, 98126.