GUNN, DOROTHY ANN TAYLOR (1932 ~ 2014). The following is an obituary for Dorothy Gunn, spouse of former Texas Employment Commission Member Joe D. Gunn. The obituary was provided by Harrell Funeral Home.
Dorothy A. Gunn
August 3, 1932 - September 27, 2014
Dorothy A. (Taylor) Gunn, 82, went home to be with the Lord on September 27, 2014 with her husband, Joe D. Gunn, of 63 years by her side.
Dorothy was born in Houston, Texas to Pete and Selma (Boeker) Taylor. She was an athlete and tomboy in her early years and was an avid tennis player while attending San Jacinto High School. She and her doubles partner even went on to win the Girls State title for doubles in 1949-1950. That was an accomplishment of which she was very proud. What many people didn’t know is that she was able to achieve that feat with limited use of her left arm after she had suffered from Infantile Paralysis when she was a toddler. While attending high school she met her sweetheart, Joe, and they were married on May 2, 1951 while he was on leave from the Korean War. They resided in Houston for many years before moving to Madisonville, Texas where they raised their own four children along with numerous others when they operated “My Youth Ranch.” Dorothy was the full-time chief, cook and bottle washer while Joe continued working and commuting to Houston. She was lovingly referred to as Grandma by many of the kids long before she was old enough to even think of being a Grandmother. Besides taking care of Joe, the kids and the animals Dorothy’s heart was so giving that she took on many other roles such as organizing an MDA walkathon and serving as the Madison County Democratic Chairperson. Once the kids were all grown she once again took on the title role when they owned and operated a Dry Cleaners and Laundromat in Madisonville before Joe’s work took him to Austin, TX. While residing in Austin Dorothy worked as a real estate agent before she later went to work for the State of Texas. She was employed by the Texas General Land Office and then eventually moved to the Texas Comptrollers office where she finally retired to enjoy taking care of her family full-time once again. She and Joe moved to Creedmoor, Texas after Joe’s retirement where she enjoyed living the country life, taking care of her Mother, spending time with her family and volunteering for the Buda United Methodist Church Food Pantry for a number of years. In her true fashion, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer she faced her illness head on and with no hesitation had a full mastectomy so she could be cancer free. She was very proud of being a breast cancer survivor.
The most important things to Dorothy were her faith, family, friends and doing anything she could to help anyone. She had a smile that could warm anyone’s heart as it did many times for the years we were blessed to have her with us. She was the best cheerleader for her husband, her children, her grandchildren or anyone else whom she felt needed love, support and encouragement. Her love, kindness and caring will be missed by so many.
Dorothy is survived by her husband Joe; sons Jay and wife Corie of Buda, Tx. and David and wife Ruth of Kyle, Tx.; “almost” sons Michael (Bones) Kronwinkler of Manvel, Tx. and David Straughan and wife Cynthia of Cypress Tx; daughter, Belinda (Happy) Rogers and husband Will of Creedmoor, Tx; grandchildren, Chelsea Gunn Welch and husband Gerald, Joe Taylor Gunn, Mackenzie Gunn and Amber Gunn; “almost grandchildren” Jason Straughan and wife Chrystina, Kimberly Straughan, Mike Kronwinkler and Mitchell Kronwinkler; and great grandchildren, Cannon and Leah Welch. She is also survived by many other family members and life-long friends. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Everett A. Taylor; son, Don Gunn and “almost” sons, Jim Kronwinkler and Danny Lewis.
Visitation Tuesday, September 30, 2014 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Harrell Funeral Home, 1715 Kirby, Kyle, TX. Reception prior to funeral, Wednesday, October 1, 2014 11:00 a.m. with Funeral at 1:00 p.m. at Buda United Methodist Church, 302 Elm Street, Buda, TX. Interment will follow at the
Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations may be made to: Buda United Methodist Church Food Pantry, P.O. Box 1196, Buda, TX 78610.
Follow Us