Jerre Dunklin Sadler's Obituary
Jerre Jean Dunklin Sadler was born on August 20, 1939, in Hamilton, Texas to Bivin Allinder Dunklin and Addie Jo Dunklin. Her older brother Bivin Hugh Dunklin was her hero, and she frequently mentioned her “magical grandmother”, Mama Young.
The Dunklins were an industrious farming family of modest means. During the Great Depression, their house had no electricity, and the bathroom was outside. Her mom would lovingly heat a brick to place in each of the kids’ beds for warmth during cold winter nights. To her family, these were not hardships, just facts. Her father made it clear that hard work, doing the right thing, and love for each other were the priorities.
She felt her father was as close to as perfect a father as was humanly possible. A highlight of her life was the adoration and respect she had for him. Some of her fondest memories were of hunting together and having chats on the tailgate of his pick-up. No topic was off-limits; they discussed local and world news, philosophy, politics, and ethics.
Jerre was tough. An example came from her early childhood when she fell off her horse, which then stepped on her. The result was a fractured skull and 13 stitches taken without any anesthetic. While this was extremely painful, she was proud that she too now had a scar like one her brother had received earlier.
While Jerre was in middle school, her family moved to Hico, Texas. It was during this time, after watching the high school girls practice, she fell in love with basketball. The following year her dream came true by being the only freshman to make the varsity team, coached by her mentor, Coach Chandler. She made the varsity team all four years and was captain one year. Her parents never missed a game. While in high school, she was voted Football Sweetheart although she was most proud of receiving the Honor Award for Citizenship. In her senior yearbook, Coach Chandler wrote, “…You have the capabilities and personality traits to enable you to go far and to contribute much to society.”
She graduated from Hico High School in 1957 and began studying at North Texas State College (now University of North Texas). She graduated in three years with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and a minor in Education. After graduating, Jerre, her brother, and “Papa D” traveled to Europe and were amazed by such landmarks as the Louve, the Catacombs, and the Leaning Tower of Pisa and humbled after visiting Dachau and the Beach at Normandy.
Once she returned to Texas, Jerre would take her first job as a typing teacher in Victoria where she would coach a student to take second place in the State Interscholastic League Typing Contest. She was so proud of her student and the success they had found as a team. Later that year, Jerre became one of ten teachers selected from the state to participate in a program in Austin aimed at designing unique lesson plans for the Texas Education Agency (TEA).
While working on the project in Austin she was approached by a marketing rep from IBM who offered her access to his entire office products line. After completing the project with the new Selectric Typewriter and dictation equipment, the marketing rep referred her for a job with IBM. Her brother Bivin drove her to Dallas for the interview. After learning that IBM’s “Basic Beliefs” and core values aligned with her own, she accepted the position. Jerre was an “IBMer” for 27 fantastic years.
Jerre excelled at IBM and would go on to become a District and Project Manager and was offered a Regional Manager position (one of three in the country). Even though she had a very successful career, she made frequent mention that the most valuable part of her career, by far, were the lifelong friends she made at IBM. She wrote in her memoir, “I have the satisfaction of knowing I worked very hard, did my best, and achieved many of my professional goals; however, every professional experience I have had over my 80 years pales in comparison to the relationships that are built between family and friends.”
She was thrilled to receive the offer for the Regional Manager position in 1968 although she would choose love instead and married her husband, Bill Sadler, the following year. They had a wonderful marriage that lasted 35 amazing years until his death in 2004. They loved each other deeply, conquered many challenges, always paid their debts, worked hard to always do the right thing and had a lot of laughs along the way. They saw each other through significant medical and financial challenges and each one only made their marriage stronger.
In 1975, they had a son, Bivin Philip Sadler. Similar to how Jerre felt about her father, Bivin felt that she was as perfect a mother as was humanly possible. They had many adventures together which included going on Safari in Tanzania in 2009. When Bivin was born, she told him, “It’s you and me against the world.” And so it was until Jerre’s courageous and hard fought battle with cancer ended with her passing on November 22nd, 2021. She always said to him that he was her heart and it is a certainty that she is his.
Before her death, she was overjoyed to herself become a “magical grandmother” to her granddaughter who shares her name, Sunny Jerre Sadler. She wrote to Sunny in her Memoir, “As you grow up sweet Sunny, know this, my heart is always with you, and my love for you limitless. Trust your heart and always do what is right.”
Jerre was a survivor of breast cancer and greatly beat the odds against multiple myeloma. She is survived by her son, Bivin Philip Sadler; daughter-in-law, Melissa Sadler; granddaughter, Sunny Jerre Sadler; brother, Bivin Hugh Dunklin. She is also survived by three double cousins, Ruth Klufa, Elva Anderson and Marcus Young as well as a niece and three nephews: Denise King, Clifford Dunklin, Jacque Dunklin and Douglas Dunklin.
In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged to the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) or to the charity of your choosing. For convenience, this link is connected directly to the donation page for the IMF. Thank you.
Visitation will be held on Wednesday, December 1st, 2021, from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the Restland Funeral Home (13005 Greenville Ave, Dallas, TX 75243). A second viewing will be held on Thursday, December 2nd, 2021, at 9:00 AM at the same location with the funeral service occurring right after at 10:00 AM. The service will be held in the largest chapel at Restland in our best efforts to prevent close personal contact. We are inviting everyone for internment at the gravesite immediately following the funeral service. Finally, the family will be receiving guests at Jerre’s house (4231 Boca Bay Dallas Texas, 75244) starting at 2 PM and lasting as long as need be to accommodate everyone. Family and friends are welcome to attend any or all of the events above. Your love and friendship were sacred to her; she cherished you deeply.
In lieu of flowers, Jerre would love that dear friends donate to the International Myeloma Foundation with any tributes.
https://give.myeloma.org/site/Donation2?3435.donation=form1&df_id=3435&mfc_pref=T#TRIBUTE
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