Charles James Dunn, a career railroader and a tennis enthusiast, died of dementia Thursday at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. The Towson resident was 85.

Mr. Dunn was born in Baltimore and raised on Cator Avenue. After graduating from Loyola High School in 1936, he attended Strayer's Business College.

Because he was colorblind, he was unable to enlist in the armed services during World War II. He spent the war years working at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Sparrows Point shipyard.

After the war, he went to work for Patapsco & Back Rivers Railroad Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel, where he was in charge of the car service department. He retired in the early 1980s.

A lifelong tennis player, Mr. Dunn played at the Clifton Park tennis courts until he was in his 70s.

He was a communicant of St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Texas, Baltimore County.

A memorial Mass will be offered at 10:30 a.m. Nov. 15 in the chapel of Stella Maris Hospice, 2300 Dulaney Valley Road, Timonium.

Mr. Dunn is survived by his wife of 62 years, the former Mary Frances Fallon; two sons, Michael J. Dunn of Jacksonville, Fla., and Patrick K. Dunn of Towson; a daughter, Carole Seddon of Hamilton; two sisters, E. Catherine Dunn of Parkville and Dorothy M. Gonce of Bel Air; and a grandson.