William Hailey Dunklin Sr.

William Hailey Dunklin Sr. 92, died on July 31, 2014 in Pine Bluff, Ark. Born Jan. 4, 1922 in Spiro, Okla., he was the third of four sons born to Ruth Hailey Dunklin and Irby W. Dunklin. He was preceded in death by his parents; and brothers, George H. Dunklin Sr. and James P. Dunklin. Bill Dunklin spent his early years in Spiro, where as a young boy he often helped in the general store owned by his father and uncles, Dunklin Brothers Mercantile. He moved to Pine Bluff in 1935 at age 13, when his father purchased Planters Cotton Oil Mill. His public school education continued in Pine Bluff until leaving for Staunton Military Academy in Staunton, Va. his junior year to complete high school. At Staunton, Dunklin was co-captain of the tennis team and a member of the debate team. In 1939 he entered Princeton University in Princeton, N.J., where he was a four year member of the Princeton Debate Team and one of the three members of the debate team his senior year that defeated Harvard during in the annual triangular tilt between Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Dunklin was elected to Princeton's Woodrow Wilson Honorary Debate Panel for excellence in debating and public speaking. He graduated magna cum laude from Princeton in 1943 and received the Gale F. Johnston Prize awarded for excellence by the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After graduating from college, Dunklin spent three and a half years in the Army Field Artillery, serving in Okinawa and Korea, being discharged in 1946 as a First Lieutenant. He attended Harvard Law School, finishing his law degree at the University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville in 1950. That same year, he joined his father and brothers in the family business, serving as an officer and a partner in Planters Cotton Oil Mill and its related agricultural businesses until the family sold their business interests in 1972. Later in his career, Bill Dunklin became a real estate developer and broker. He served as Chairman of the Board of Midland Corporation (1973-1978) which developed several Pine Bluff residential subdivisions and apartment complexes. He was also a partner in Norton and Dunklin Realty, Inc. (1973-1978), served as President of Pines Realty of Pine Bluff (1990-1992), and as President of Dunklin Development Company, the developer of Deerfield Subdivision (1978-1992). While pursuing these interests, Dunklin continued to maintain his connection to the agricultural industry. He was General Manager of Dunklin Farms (1972-2004), a rice, cotton, soybean, and catfish operation near Dumas, Ark. which he operated with his son, Bill Jr. He was a past President of the Arkansas Plant Food Education Society and the Arkansas Agricultural Pesticide Association. One of the highlights of Bill Dunklin's life was serving as Acting President of Lyon College, formerly Arkansas College, in Batesville, Ark. (1981-1982). He also served many years on the Board of Trustees of Lyon College, receiving an Honorary Doctorate from Lyon College (1983) and the designation of Honorary Alumnus (1991). Bill Dunklin had a strong commitment to Pine Bluff and to Arkansas. He served as Co-Chairman of the Red Cross Drive of Jefferson County (1953), President of United Way of Jefferson County (1968 and 1970), President of Rotary Club (1978), President of Pine Bluff Community Foundation (1987-1990), and President of the Arkansas Community Foundation (1991). In 1970, he served as Chairman of the Special Pine Bluff Committee to promote the transfer of Biological Facilities at the Pine Bluff Arsenal from the Department of Defense to other federal agencies. This led the way for creation of the National Center for Toxicological Research (NCTR) in White Hall. He also served on numerous community boards and committees including the Board of Directors of Trinity Village (1973-1980), Board of Directors of Youth Home (1976-1978), Pine Bluff Chamber of Commerce's Education, Agricultural, and Highway Committees, Board of Directors of Leadership Pine Bluff (1984-1988), and Board of Directors of Arkansas Community Foundation (1981-1991). He was instrumental in establishing local community foundation boards throughout Arkansas. Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation was established as one of these local boards and Dunklin served as its first Board President. In 1991, he was named to the Pine Bluff Leadership Hall of Fame. As a leader in the Presbyterian Church, Bill Dunklin served over the years as Elder, Sunday School teacher, and Search Committee member at First Presbyterian Church in Pine Bluff. He was Moderator of the Presbytery of Arkansas (1988) and served on the Long Range Planning Committee of the Presbytery of Arkansas (1988-1992). He also served on the Board of Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Home in Monticello, Ark. (1991-1992). Bill Dunklin had a lifelong passion for political affairs. He served as Chairman of the Jefferson County Republican Committee for 12 years (1960s-1970s), and served on the Executive Committee of the Arkansas Republican Party for 20 years (1964-1984). He was the Arkansas State Campaign Chairman for George Bush for President in the Republican Primary in 1979-1980. He also served as an Arkansas delegate to the 1976 Republican National Convention in Kansas City, where he served on the National Republican Platform Committee. Tennis was his other passion. He was intramural tennis champ at Princeton, played competitively as a young man and was an Arkansas ranked senior tennis player. He served as President of the Arkansas Tennis Association in 1976. Bill Dunklin's greatest love was his family, who adored him. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Ethel Smart Dunklin; four children, Elise Dunklin Eiken, Dabney Dunklin Pelton (Tom), William Dunklin Jr., and Philip Dunklin (Sanford); 10 grandchildren, William Dunklin III (Allison), Sarah Dunklin Chatham (Robert), Hailey Pelton Easley (Seth), Hudson Harris (Melanie), Alex Dunklin, Colin Pelton, Laurel Pelton Davenport (Corey), I.S. Dunklin, Sloane Dunklin Holzhauer (Collin), and Chandler Dunklin; and seven great-grandchildren, Austin Easley, Elise Chatham, Walker Harris, Holden Holzhauer, William Davenport, Griffin Dunklin, and Parker Easley. He is also survived by his brother, Louis M. Dunklin (Elsie). Services are Monday, Aug. 4, at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church with interment following in Graceland Cemetery by Ralph Robinson & Son. The family will receive friends in McColgan Hall at First Presbyterian from 1-1:45 p.m. Monday. Memorials may be made to the Arkansas Community Foundation designated for the William H. Dunklin Sr. Endowment, a fund supporting the operations of the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation, 1400 W. Markham, Suite 206, Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Memorials may also be made to Lyon College designated for the William H. and Ethel Smart Dunklin Endowed Scholarship, P.O. Box 2317, Batesville, Ark. 72503 or to the First Presbyterian Church, 717 West 32nd Avenue, Pine Bluff, Ark. 71603. Online register: www.ralphrobinsonandson.com.