Helen Dunavin, 82, family matriarch and community leader of Greenville, TX and the surrounding areas for over 30 years, took her leave of this earth on August 20, 2020.
The oldest of nine children, Mrs. Dunavin came from meager means where family was key. Her dedication to family remained her foundation as she raised three children and three grandchildren and inspired the lives of her three great grandchildren.
Mrs. Dunavin met and married her husband, Jearl Dunavin, a young helicopter pilot in the U.S. Air Force in 1956. They shared 56 years together starting with an exciting overseas assignment in Okinawa, Japan before returning to the states and eventually settling in Greenville where they became pillars of the community. Mr. Dunavin forged a life-long career in education as a teacher, principal, football coach, and GED administrator. Mrs. Dunavin pursued a career in the banking industry where her hard work and passion received ongoing recognition and she became a pioneer for women in the industry opening senior-level doors previously closed to them.
She loved the relationships she forged with the many members of the community, and was personally rewarded when she was able to help a small business owner secure a loan critical to success or assist a family through a financial hardship when it was most needed. She served on numerous boards and committees including the Greenville Animal Shelter Board, United Way, FL Young Foundation, Greenville Chamber of Commerce, and YMCA.
She loved beauty and art and books and music, and while she could not carry a tune (sorry, Mother), she never let that stop her from singing along to all her favorites usually in the car with several children in tow. She loved to work in the garden, turn cartwheels with her grandchildren, or put them on a bike two at a time and ride around the country roads where she lived. And, more than anything, she loved spending time with friends and family sharing stories and laughing out loud, always laughing out loud.
Intelligent and lovely and usually the brightest light in the room, she loved to shine. She often said laughingly that she was not a prima donna but if she was going to be on stage, she wanted to be up front and in the middle. Today, her star shines brighter than ever in God’s house.
She was preceded in death by her husband, her grandson Neil Dunavin, her parents Loye and Lillian Beatrice Adams, her sisters Ina Thompson and Lavada Simpson, and her brothers BJ Adams and Ray Adams.
She is survived by her children Richard Dunavin, Lisa Dunavin (Atlanta, GA) and Michael Dunavin, grandchildren Ashley Dunavin and Crystal Maddox, her great grandchildren Caitlyn Maddox, Haley Dunavin and Aidan Dunavin, sisters Mozelle Rutledge (Lebanon, OR), Edee White and Patsy Crawford (both of Sulphur Springs, TX), brother Loye Adams (Naples, TX), three generations of nieces and nephews, and so many wonderful friends, all of whom loved her and she loved dearly through good times and bad.
Graveside services will be held at Shady Grove Cemetery on Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 10:00 a.m. Masks and social distancing are required. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to your local Humane Society or ASPCA.
