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ALLENTOWN: Friends mourn community leader Dunster

by Jane Meggitt, special writer
   ALLENTOWN —The township and surrounding communities lost a tireless volunteer with the passing of Ron Dunster, 72, March 17.
   Friends and colleagues remembered the man who dedicated so much of his time to helping others.
   Jamey Bohonyi, owner of the New Egypt Agway, said he has never met and may never know anyone who gave more back to his community than Mr. Dunster.
   ”Ron has helped more people directly and indirectly than I can quantify in any way. Loyal, sincere, dedicated and unwavering are only some of the words to describe Ron,” Mr. Bohonyi said. “In today’s world too many people are put on a pedestal that are undeserving. Ron is an exception and is most deserving of praise and recognition for his tireless community support.
   ”Allentown will miss him,” he added. “I will miss him and certainly never forget him.”
   Wil Borkowski, also of Allentown, shared similar sentiments.
   ”I will always remember Ron coming into Allentown’s Fall Harvest Festival each year driving his blue golf cart,” Mr. Borkowski recalled. “If Ron volunteered to do something for someone, not only would it be done the next day, but he would follow up with a phone call to make sure that it had been done if he didn’t do it himself.”
   Mr. Borkowski said much of Mr. Dunster’s volunteer work focused on kids’ activities.
   ”Ron ran Heritage Park, the skating rink and the fishing tournaments year after year. He will be missed,” he said.
   Mr. Dunster and his longtime friend Ivan Olinsky, Upper Freehold, often called each other “pal” or “brother.”
   Mr. Olinsky’s comments came as he said farewell to his pal at from the Peppler Funeral Home, just down the street from Mr. Dunster’s home in Allentown.
   ”I loved Ron very much and the last time we spoke he laughed and told me that he would save me a seat. Allentown lost an icon but his accomplishments will forever be remembered,” Mr. Olinsky said.
   Michele Lawrence, who worked with Mr. Dunster at the Give Back Foundation, which he helped create in 2005, also reflected on his contributions to others and the community.
   ”Ron fought hard over the last few years and never gave up hope that he would somehow recover from his heart problems and that he would be able to continue on his never-ending journey to help those in need,” she recalled. “Ron always thought of others before himself and demonstrated this not only through his words but through his actions.
   ”Over the years he raised thousands of dollars, collected tons of food and donated gifts for the needy and the underprivileged,” she added.
   Ms. Lawrence also said while he spoke his mind with a “take no prisoners” attitude, he always did it because he was a true advocate for the needy, the underdog and the sick.
   ”He was passionate about his many causes – the veterans, the Lions Club, the Car Club, Relay for Life and most notably, the Give Back Foundation,” Ms. Lawrence said, adding that Mr. Dunster knew what it was like to be dirt poor and never forgot his roots.
   ”He told me many times his stories of growing up by the railroad tracks, how he and his brother would collect the coal that fell from the trains so they could heat the apartment they lived in with their mom. I’m sure his hard, poor childhood molded the man we all knew and loved – a giving man who always had a kiss and a hug for you,” she said.
   Tristan Tilghman, of North Hanover, was another beneficiary of Mr. Dunster’s generosity.
   When Mr. Dunster learned the Tilghman family was having trouble affording a diabetic service dog for Tristan, he provided a donation through the Give Back Foundation.
   Kerry Tilghman, Tristan’s mother, said Mr. Dunster was hoping to meet the canine, named Bauer, but he arrived two days after Mr. Dunster passed.
   ”Ron Dunster was a compassionate man that gave so much hope to the families in the community. We will forever be grateful for the part he played in helping us bring a service dog, a guardian angel, to our son,” she said.
   Mr. Dunster, born in Elizabeth, grew up in Carteret before moving to Allentown in 1986.
   Apart from being a found member of the Give Back Foundation, Mr. Dunster was a former Allentown recreation commissioner, member of Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church in East Windsor, a member of Theodore Roosevelt Lodge No. 219 F&AM and a member of the Monmouth County Hunt Club.
   Son of the late Curtis and Elsie Dunster, he was predeceased by his brother Roger Dunster. Ron is survived by his wife of 52 years, Myrtle Dunster; his children, Nancy Donoughe and her husband, Daniel, of Stroudsburg, Pa., Patricia Crawford of Kendall Park, and Allan Dunster and his wife, Kim, of Flanders; a brother, Henry Dunster of Fla.; a sister-in-law, Rosemary Dunster of Ore.; an aunt, Edie Wasilek of Sewaren; seven grandchildren, Kevin and Kimberly Donoughe, Aimee, Sean and Allison Crawford, Amanda Boyle and Matthew Dunster; and several nieces and nephews.
   Contributions in Dunster’s memory may be made to the Give Back Foundation, P.O. Box 535 Allentown, NJ 08501.