Joseph Victor Dunlop

Joseph Victor Dunlop, son of Scots-Irish Fredrick Dunlop and Jane-Ann Taylor-Dunlop, died at the age of 94 due to a heart attack several days after hip surgery early Sunday morning on Aug 12, 2018. He was the oldest boy of six with three sisters and two brothers. It wasn’t easy to get him to talk about himself, but it was fascinating when he would open up and share his life story progressing from an Irish country farm boy to manufacturing ties with his brother and Uncle in the New York based tie company, called Wm. A. Taylor LTD.

His family agrees that his love of the Lord, and devotion to his family, especially his dear wife, made him a role model to many. His children, Mark Dunlop (Barbara) and Ruth Ann Dunlop-Wessel (Colin) passed that Christian foundation and the values of kindness, servitude, and drive to become better versions of themselves, onto their children as well.

His grandchildren, Joshua, Naomi Mueller (Michael), Esther, and Jonathan Dunlop, as well as Rachel Wessel and Rebecca Wessel-Mahon (Zachary) have fond memories of him enjoying listening to his wife Eleanor entertain guests, going to church with her, following stocks and his investments, update us with news from the newspaper, and maintain a desire to remain humble and serve others.

Joe was born and grew up on a family farm in Drumbrick, Carrigallen, County Lietram in Ireland, on January 7th, 1924. His family had 12 cows, two horses, and 50 beef cattle. They grew corn, wheat, oats, potatoes, turnips, cabbage, onions, and beets and it kept the entire family very busy.

He said his earliest memory was when he was around three years old and he fell off a horse-pulled cart while reaching for the reigns behind the family’s Clydesdale horse, who didn’t kick him because he was a good horse! He also recalled, as a young child, drawing water from the farm’s well when the heavy, swinging bucket made him lose his balance and caused him to fall in. He had to climb six feet of dirt wall to get out! He enjoyed playing with the horses on his farm when he could, but most of the time he was working hard with his family whenever he was home.

He went to the Drumeela primary school, which was one big room, until he was 13, but only after driving the horse-drawn milk cart by himself and delivering the morning milk his sisters got from their dairy cows. He then attended the Royal School of Cavin, a boarding school. He was active, and actually broke both of his collarbones playing rugby - a sport he loved. Fun fact: the school doctor there removed his tonsils with scissors as he stood up against a wall. Well, fun for us, but not so fun for him at the time he noted!

At the age of 15, he started working at the County Cavin Stores LTD in the grocery department, but soon became the store manager, despite his young age due to his meticulous bookkeeping, reliability, professionalism, and timeliness, and stayed there for several years.

He started working at David Patton Ltd. in Monaghan, Ireland in September 1947 (until May 1953) as a manager in a branch store that sold groceries, hardware, and machinery, which he soon reorganized. His store was the first to make a profit in the chain, and he was transferred to head office as an efficiency expert where he excelled and got an incredible letter of recommendation, which he saved and showed us.

He immigrated to the USA in 1953 when he was 28 years old and got a job at Chase Bank. Joe continued to learn and took accounting courses at Columbia University and received a textile degree from City University of New York.

Bill Taylor, his uncle, asked Joe, as well as his brother Charles, to partner with him in his New York based tie company, Wm. A. Taylor LTD., and Joe joined in Oct 1954. These high-end ties were made of imported silk, English prints, and hand sewn in New York. Reportedly, they were worn by U.S. Presidents during their inaugural speeches, found at high end department stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch (when it was a sportsman store), Lord and Taylor, and even the gift shop at the Statue of Liberty. At Taylor Ties he took care of payments, hired salesmen, paying bills, purchasing raw materials, and designing the ties.

Once stable and ready for a wife, he went to Word of Life Christian Camp at the recommendation of a friend hoping to meet a Christian girl. He met Eleanor Geils in the lunchroom there in 1956. She ended up spending more time walking and talking with him than with the friends she had come with. He loved telling us that after his second date with her he knew he would ask her to marry him. They were married on July 12, 1958. They had two children, Mark

and Ruth Ann. God has blessed them with six grandchildren: Joshua, Naomi, Esther, Jonathan, Rachel and Rebecca and two new son’s in laws, Michael and Zachary. In October, a great grandchild will join the family. What a legacy of love they shared as they were married for almost 60 years .

In his retirement, he enjoyed keeping on top of his investments, spending time with his wife and her guests, watching Pat Roberson on the Christian Broadcasting Network, and having his family members visit. He also remained loving and sweet to his wife despite her dementia and eventual passing in May of 2017.

Godly Husband/Father, humble, hard-working, and responsible, Joe leaves a legacy to be carried on by his loving family.