Dunlap, Johnny Hall
January 27, 1931-June 17, 2017 Johnny was a wonderful husband, a beloved father and grandfather, and a respected professor at Vanderbilt. A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 29, 6:30 pm at Belmont Church at 68 Music Square East, Nashville, TN. Visitation will begin at 5:00 pm.
Obituary
Johnny Hall Dunlap, born January 27, 1932, in La Grange, GA, passed away Saturday, June 17, at St. Thomas West Hospital in Nashville, TN.
Johnny was a wonderful husband, a beloved father and grandfather, and a respected professor. Johnny had an investigative mind and a sense of wonder. He was an engineer, a sailor, and a philanthropist. He loved to tinker and was known to be quick-witted. He earned his Bachelor of Engineering, Magna Cum Laude, from Vanderbilt University in 1953. Johnny performed engineering research at the Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois for his Master of Science degree, received from Vanderbilt. He completed his doctoral degree in Nuclear Physics at the University of Florida in 1967. He was a professor of Mechanical Engineering at Vanderbilt University from 1967 to 1998. Additionally, he was an honored coach and advisor to the Vanderbilt University Sailing Club.
He was active in the work of the Lord, serving as deacon and Bible study teacher with various congregations, as well as contributing financial support to Christian ministries for many years. He was also known to bring the Dunlap family’s pony cart to church picnics and big family get-togethers to the delight of children.
Johnny is survived by his wife of sixty-two years, Mary Burton Dunlap; his children, Cindy MoonRose, David Dunlap, and Scot Dunlap; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
Preceding him in death are his parents, Alice Hall and R.L. Dunlap; an older brother, George, of La Grange, GA, and his twin brother, Julian Lee.
A memorial service will be held on Thursday, June 29, 6:30 pm, at Belmont Church at 68 Music Square East, Nashville, TN. Visitation will begin at 5:00 pm. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Agape Nashville.
Comments by Fletcher Srygley
I was able to attend the wonderful Celebration of Life Service for John Dunlap. I’ve known the Dunlap family for a long time and have known them to be a good family. I also know that, while I know of many of the good deeds of our members, much flies under the radar. I wish I had recordings of the tributes to John.
There were many memories of John recounted at the memorial service, mostly by family members. Several remembered that John loved sailing and often took friends out on his catamaran that I think he built. Mary loved horses and they indulged each other. Cindy noted that her mother was suffering some memory problems and they have had a caregiver with John and Mary. Cindy had interviewed her mom and Mary had dictated some memories that Cindy read with an apology that she recorded what Mary had spoken and it might be somewhat disjointed. It did not seem so to me. Mary remembered the first time she met Johnny. He could fix anything. He was wonderful—the love of her life.
Both boys spoke and David’s wife (Donna ?) spoke with great feeling about meeting John and her love for him. A man, whom John and Mary had befriended, but whose name I did not catch, in tears, told of John coming over late one evening after learning of their financial difficulties. Short version: They were expecting and didn’t even know if they could pay for the delivery. John examined their bills, then wrote a check for each one. “I’ve got an engineering job this summer and can take care of this,” he explained. He wrote another check for the delivery of their baby. No expectation of being repaid, although, in fact, sometime later the family did reimburse the Dunlaps. There were other stories.
Dutton…child of Bill and Mary Martha Dutton