Michael Gregory Dunn, 79

Michael Gregory Dunn

1943-2022

 

On Michael Dunn’s last day, while fishing in Alaska, he caught a rainbow trout that was his

personal best. That evening on Wednesday, June 22, 2022 he passed away peacefully in his cabin after spending his final days enjoying the love and companionship of his two sons, Kevin and Patrick, and two grandsons, Patrick Jr. and George.

 

A celebration of Mike’s life was held Saturday, June 25, at the Ocean Forest Golf Club on Sea

Island, Georgia. His family had made annual vacation trips to the Georgia coast beginning in the

mid-1980s, and when he retired, Mike and Ellen moved to Sea Island in 1996 where they built a

house on the beach. Mike loved Sea Island, loved golf, fishing, playing cards with friends, and

life itself.

 

He had retired from a career in the securities and bond markets, treasured raising a family in

Minneapolis, enjoyed a lake house in northern Minnesota, and stayed close to his five sisters.

Michael Gregory Dunn was born on May 14, 1943, the first of six children born to Jean Fockens

Dunn and George Delker Dunn in Mason City, Iowa. Mike was only 11 when his father died at

just 36, and even at that young age, he began easing into his role as the family patriarch, helping

around the house and being supportive of his five young sisters. When his mother remarried, the

family moved to Hampton, Iowa where Mike graduated from Hampton High School. He grew up

in the Catholic church, served as an altar boy, was a good student and an accomplished athlete in

golf and basketball.

 

He attended Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska on a golf scholarship and continued to

play with a single-digit handicap most of his life. He transferred his sophomore year to the

University of Iowa where he joined the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and launched his first

successful business: Hammy’s Here! making and delivering late-night sandwiches to the

sororities and fraternities on campus. He graduated with a degree in business in 1964 and went

on to earn an MBA at Stanford University in 1970.

During a summer working as a lifeguard at Breezy Point Resort in northern Minnesota, he met

and married Ellen Claire Snyder in 1966. They went on to raise a young family and spent many

happy years together. They remained friends until the end, something that made Mike extremely

proud.

 

Mike’s first job was with Prudential Financial in Minneapolis, but he soon affiliated with

partners in the securities and bond markets. He was a creative, gifted investor and never thought

of his job as “work.”

As hard as he worked, Mike always made family his first priority. There was nothing that made

him prouder than his two boys. Even when working during vacations at the family’s lake house,

he was never too busy to take the boys water skiing and fishing. One of his most enjoyable

business experiences was the partnership owning and operating the Golden State Warriors from

1986-1995, during the “Run TMC” era with Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullen.

Some of Patrick and Kevin’s fondest memories are watching Warriors games with their dad.

Mike was generous in his philanthropic endeavors, primarily the Evans Scholars Foundation

which provides full tuition and housing scholarships to golf caddies going to college, and the

Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Georgia in Brunswick. A family ritual at Christmas was the

annual shopping trip, gathering gifts of all kinds for Santa Anonymous and Toys for Tots. Mike

shared his life lessons and values with his two boys, teaching them to treat people with respect,

particularly those less fortunate. Honesty and integrity were front and center, grabbing attention

for oneself was not.

 

Mike, a member of MENSA, eagerly searched out difficult crossword puzzles in The Wall Street

Journal and The New York Times and could be spotted working them over lunch. He was an

avid reader—books were everywhere—and he loved movies, often going alone. He was a self-

taught guitar player, mostly bluegrass and classical music, and was an avid Bridge, Gin and

Poker player. He was a member of the Interlachen Country Club in Minneapolis and currently, in

Georgia, the Frederica Golf Club, Sea Island Golf Club, and Ocean Forest Golf Club.

Mike Dunn leaves a big hole in a big family. He is survived by his sons, Patrick (Susan) and

grandchildren—Patrick, Jr., Lauren, and Catherine—and Kevin (Valerie) and grandchildren

George and Elizabeth. The loving sisters who survive him are: Patricia Dunn Williams of Iowa

Falls; Kathleen Dunn Stuart (Ted) of Des Moines; Molly Dunn (Bart Murtaugh) of Newton,

Iowa; Laurie Dunn Rieks (Bob) of Naples, Florida; and Theresa Dunn of Phoenix. Many nieces

and nephews who loved their uncle will miss him as will friends all over. His longtime

companion, Deborah Hines, survives him, as does his former wife and friend, Ellen Snyder

Dunn. Mike was predeceased by his parents and stepfather, Robert Nelson.

In lieu of flowers, the family knows Mike would appreciate donations to the Boys and Girls Club

of Southeast Georgia, 3836 Johnston St, Brunswick, GA 31520 or ww.bgcsega.com.