Obituary of Robert L. Dunleavy

Robert L. “Bob” Dunleavy, 77, of Ft. Myers, FL died peacefully at his Florida home on Tuesday, June 18, 2019 with his wife by his side. He was the devoted husband of Rita (Ventura) Dunleavy with whom he shared over 53 years of marriage. Born in Peabody, MA on February 7, 1942, he was the son of the late Joseph A. and Ruth E. (Devaney) Dunleavy/Sutherland and resided in Peabody until 1978 then lived in Beverly, MA. He was the proprietor of Colack Upholstering for 35 years until he retired to Florida in 2015. A lifelong N.E. Patriots fan, he ran the infamous “Bob & Mac’s Football Trip” annually for 40 years to attend Patriot road games with many other die-hard fans. Bob served as Exalted Ruler in 1978 at the Peabody Lodge of Elks #1409, and was awarded the Elk of the Year in 1992. He was an active member of the Wakefield Elks #1276, VFW Post 1011, Div 11 AOH, American Legion Post 153, Loyal Order of Moose #218, and the Polish Lithuanian Club of Danvers. Robert proudly served in the US Air Force during the Vietnam War Era being honorably discharged in 1965. He was also a graduate of Bay State College. He is survived by his wife Rita, his three daughters and sons-in-law, Marie Dunleavy, Rita Stone and her companion John Colantoni, all of Ipswich, MA and Diandra Sanphy and her husband Jay of Hampton, NH; his brother Paul Dunleavy of Swampscott; his sister Sheila Sirois of Lynn; His grandchildren Jake Sanphy of NH; Adam and Nate Stone of Ipswich; Ashley (Sanphy) Cerasuolo and her husband Michael, and a great-grandson Michael F. Cerasuolo, Jr. all of NH; as well as many sisters-in-law, bothers-in-law, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends. He was predeceased by his infant son Alexander Francis Dunleavy, his step-father Al Sutherland of MD, and his brother John “Jack” Dunleavy of Peabody. Visitation will be held on Sunday, June 23, 2019 from 2:00 until 6:00 PM at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn St., Peabody, MA followed by a service at 6:00 PM. A private burial will be held on Monday at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may be made to the Leukemia Research Foundation, 191 Waukegan Rd., Northfield, Illinois, 60093 in his memory. For guestbook and directions, please visit www.ccbfuneral.com