Richard Tuneski

Alpharetta, Ga.— Richard “Dick” J. Tuneski, 77, of Alpharetta, formerly of New London, died on Friday, July 3, 2015.

Dick was born in New London on April 20, 1938, the son of the late Mary Helen (Lamorine) Tuneski and Stephen J. Tuneski. Dick was a member of St. Mary’s Parish, where he served as an altar boy. He attended St. Mary’s School. He graduated from New London High School in 1956 and attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs, where he earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in American history.

After graduation, Dick taught at Montville High School and met fellowlocal teacher, Nancy O’Neal, originally from Keene, N.H. They were married on July 20, 1968, and were together for 46 years prior to Nancy’s death in July 2014.

Dick attended The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Ill., and received his juris doctorate fromthe Atlanta Law School in Atlanta, Ga. He practiced lawfor over 40 years in Atlanta. One of the highlights of his career was when he argued before the Supreme Court of Connecticut in 1994, winning the decision in Henderson v. Woolley, which resulted in minor children having the right to take action against their parents for personal injuries arising out of sexual abuse, sexual assault or sexual exploitation.

Dick is survived by his son, Alexander G. Tuneski, daughter-in-law, Stacey (Hinton) Tuneski and grandson, Everett Maddux Tuneski, all of Arlington, Va.; and two sisters, Jean M. Tuneski of Alameda, Calif., and Patricia A. Tuneski ofWashington, D.C. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Barbara Tuneski of Niantic; two nephews, J. Robert Tuneski and his wife, Jean P. Tuneski, ofWaterford and Peter B. Tuneski and his wife, Leigh Hayden Tuneski, of Rye, N.Y.; and grandnieces and grandnephews, Kathryn A. Tuneski of New York, N.Y., Matthew Tuneski of Baltimore, Md., and Prescott Tuneski and Tess Tuneski of Rye, N.Y.

He was predeceased by his brother, Robert S. Tuneski.

Dick was a kind, wonderful and highly intelligent man, blessed with a great sense of humor and the ability to see the irony in life. Relatives and friends constantly sought him out for his advice in both legal and daily living matters, and he spent a good deal of his time providing pro bono support to those in need. He kept his family and friends laughing up until the time of his death, and needless to say, he will be greatly missed.

A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated on July 6, at St. Andrew Catholic Church in Roswell, Ga.

Donations in his memory may be made to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation atwww.fundraiseforbcrf.org/ rtuneski.