Daniel Philip Gunn Jr.'s Obituary
Daniel Philip Gunn, Jr. was born June 7, 1919 and died November 10, 2009 at the age of 90 after a brief illness. He was preceded in death by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy Branton Gunn, his parents, Daniel P. Gunn, Sr. and Louise Caroline Hansel Gunn, brothers Fred and Hansel Gunn. He is survived by his three daughters, Paulette Gunn, Cynthia Gunn Coleman and Kathe Phillips; his six grandchildren, Rosalyn Coleman Bain, Roxanne Coleman, Jeffrey Sone, Stephanie Sone, Kelsey Phillips and Rickey Phillips; his five great-grandchildren, Peyton Coleman Birdwell, Colton McSwane, Ja’Marian Pearson, Addison & Bailey Bain; and several nieces and nephews. Dan graduated from Mesquite High School in 1937 and last month he was able to attend his 72nd high school reunion, where he was recognized for being the oldest living male alumni. He loved attending these reunions and, even though he was not feeling up to par and had just had surgery three days before, he was determined to attend this reunion. He told his daughters that he had never missed a reunion yet and he did not intend to start now. Following graduation, he worked as a carpenter until he joined the Navy in May of 1940, as he put it, “To see the world.” And see the world he did. He had lots of stories to share about his naval experience, one being that one of his first duties after joining the Navy was to scrub the teak deck until he could sit on it and not get his white uniform dirty. He was stationed in numerous ports and was on various ships, but the most memorial was being stationed at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombed it on December 7, 1941. But, on a happier occasion, he was excited to witness the signing of the Peace Treaty by General McArthur. While he did not talk much about the war in his younger years, he loved to talk about it in more recent years and could entertain you for hours with stories about Pearl Harbor. While stationed in San Francisco, he and Dorothy Branton married on July 31, 1942 and started their family with the birth of their first daughter, Paulette, in 1944. He was discharged on May 27, 1946, only months before the birth of their second daughter, Cynthia. He joined the Reserve Naval Air Station in Dallas and was later recalled to active duty during the Korean War. After being discharged a second time in June 1952, he went to work for his wife’s brother, Charles, building cooling towers. In 1955, he and Dorothy had their third daughter, Kathe. He eventually returned to his true passion, carpentry, a profession he retired from at least twice. He loved working with a piece of raw wood and took great pride in being able to make something wonderful from it, often time without charging a penny for his work. He loved helping people and received great joy from being able to build or repair something. After retirement, his days were filled with doing little “projects” for the kids, grandkids….and anyone else that asked. You could always find him tinkering with something in his garage and welcomed the opportunity to be of service. He had a great love for his church and was instrumental in the remodeling of the sanctuary and his legacy will live on through the beauty enjoyed by all those that attend Pleasant Mound United Methodist Church. As is evidenced by the pictures on the video tribute, he and Dorothy loved to travel. Didn’t matter whether it was by car, plane or ship. But, they especially loved to take cruises and cruised Alaska several times as well as the Caribbean. They also loved to visit Hawaii and Eureka Springs, and did so numerous times. As a young man, his hobbies included playing baseball and, in later years, he traded the baseball for a golf ball. He made many a trip to Holly Lake to play a round or two on their golf course. He continued to play golf until surgery for the removal of kidney stones made it difficult for him to swing a club. But that did not keep him from continuing to take the grandkids for a ride on his golf cart at the school yard across the street from his home. He loved to play 42, work gig-saw puzzles (something also enjoyed by his youngest daughter, Kathe) and, up until not long ago, one of his favorite pastimes (also shared by his daughter, Cynthia) was to walk up and down the isles of Home Depot to see what was new and if there were any tools that he just had to have. You rarely saw him without a Dr. Pepper in his hand and he craved waffles and loved chocolate pie. Prior to his hospitalization, you could find Dan and Cynthia enjoying a waffle three to four times a week at one of his favorite places to eat, Lindy’s, where all the wait staff knew him and immediately knew what he wanted to eat without even having to ask. They loved joking with him and were always happy to see him come through the door….he was a big tipper, you know! Dan lived a long, happy and relatively healthy life until his recent hospitalization, which ultimately lead to his death on Tuesday, November 10th. He was a wonderful husband and father, was a great inspiration and was loved by many. He loved his family and was always looking for ways to help his daughters and grandchildren. He took great pride in his family and beamed at their accomplishments. He was a quiet, patient, kind and gentle man who seldom raised his voice or showed anger (well, except perhaps when his granddaughter, Rosalyn, ran his cherished golf cart into a tree). He was a generous man, always willing to help. Even while he lay in his bed at the rehab center, he was worried about how Raymond, his next door neighbor, was getting along. Dan was anxious to get back on his feet so he could go to Fairfield and check on Rosalyn and to see if she needed him to do any carpentry work on her new home. And, he was excited that Jeffrey had just returned from Iraq safely. He was so proud that Roxanne had graduated from college in May and Kelsey from high school in June and Stephanie was soon to graduate from college with a teaching degree. And he was looking forward to the upcoming birth of two more granddaughters….Yes, he loved his family. Dan loved life. He just rolled with the punches and lived each day to the fullest. When the Autumn Leaves Chaplain came to see Dan the day before he died, even though he never opened his eyes and was no longer able to verbally communicate, when the Chaplain held Dan’s hand and told him that Jesus loved him, Dan just sweetly smiled. He was at peace. While his family and friends will surely miss him, we know that he has gone to be with his Lord and Savior and he is no longer in any pain. Our world has been a better place because of Daniel Philip Gunn, Jr.
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