Kenneth O'Dell Dunnam

Kenneth (Ken) O’Dell Dunnam passed away on October 14, 2024, at Round Rock St. David’s Hospital at 86 years of age, following a short illness. His home was in Sun City, Georgetown, Texas at the time of his passing.

Ken was born on January 16, 1938, at old Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas to his father, Thurman O’Dell Dunnam and mother, Eula Anneta Wallace Dunnam. Ken’s younger sister, Joyce Maxine Dunnam, was born in 1941. He started school in 1943, at Metz Elementary in Austin, 2 blocks south of East 1st on the corner of Willow St. and Anthony St. and Ken’s family lived near the school until Ken was in the 3rd Grade. Ken’s grandfather, William Simpson Wallace III gave a plot of land to Ken’s mother to build a house on, which was located on Thompson Lane behind Calahan’s store on Highway 71. The family moved and Ken went to the old Colorado School on Bergstrom field property. Ken attended I.W. Popham in Del Valley which took old Colorado River School’s place. In the 7th grade, Ken went to Fullmore and then to old Austin High School on 12th Street for one year, then transferred to William B. Travis for 2 more years, where Ken graduated at 17 years old in 1955. Ken joined the Army the same year he graduated from high school, with special permission from his mother. Ken lived with his mother, father, sister and his remarried maternal grandmother, Lillian Morton, until he met and married Barbara Ann Wilder on August 22, 1958. Ken was ordered to the Army Aircraft School in Fort Rucker, Alabama, where the couple lived off-base in a camping trailer but returned to Texas shortly afterwards.

The couple lived in several different places, including Houston, Texas where Ken was honorably discharged from the Army and worked for Brown and Root. He worked in Houston until Barbara gave birth to their first child, Diana Christine, and their small family moved back to Austin and lived in the camping trailer in the driveway of Ken’s parent’s house in Montopolis.

Ken’s family purchased and eventually moved into their home of 63 years at 1514 Cullen Avenue, Austin, Texas, when Brian O’Dell and later Scott Lance were born. Ken worked for Kwik Wash Laundromat, then worked for the Highway Department and Texas Department of Public Safety as an electrician and air conditioning repairman, using skills he acquired while at Brown and Root. In 1977, Ken and his family of five moved to Uvalde, Texas where Ken was recruited to be a construction trades teacher at Uvalde High School. After several years in Uvalde, Ken’s family moved back to Austin to the Cullen house, where Ken continued to work as a high school teacher, until he retired from the Austin Independent School District. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree in 1981 at (Southwest) Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas and his Texas Teacher Certificate from the University of Texas in Austin for Vocational-Industrial, CVAE (08/30/1980) and Vocational-Trades and Industries (07/24/1979). To supplement his income during the summers off from teaching, Ken owned an appliance repair company, named Ken’s Repair Service. He went on to teach at Capital City Trades and decided to truly retire at the age of 55 years.

Ken and Barbara were members of the Koenig Lane Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for most of their lives, until they moved to Georgetown. When Ken was young, he enjoyed working on his many collectable cars: 1929 and 1931 Model A’s, 1938 Chevrolet Coupe, 1948 Dodge Coupe, 1950 Black Mercury, 1955 Ford, 1957 Plymouth, and 1947 Chevrolet van. He acquired a love of guns from the Army and collected, shot, maintained, and invested in many types of guns over the years. He taught his children and grandchildren gun safety and proper respect for weapons. He was an inventor at heart and loved to make workable solutions out of discarded construction supplies in his backyard shop. He regularly repaired his own vehicles and overhauled a complete engine for a Honda Civic. He loved his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. He was known to kiss all of them, regardless of whether the kids wanted him to or not. Ken and his family built a house from the ground up and the house was lived in by Brian before it was sold.

Ken is survived by his three children and spouses, Diana and Tim Mortensen, Brian and Nancy Dunnam and Scott and Jan Dunnam, grandchildren and spouses, Gary Ernest and Hannah Violet Mortensen and Kelly Ann Mortensen and Jeremy McGraw, Bryce Stanten and Cassie Dunnam, Brynna Shayne Dunnam, Caleab Ardell Dodson, and Craig Ardell Dodson. Five great-grandchildren, Finn Kelson McGraw, Troy Maddox Mortensen, Lily Faye Dunnam, Scarlett Meadow Mortensen and Grayson Osbourne Dunnam, and one sister, Joyce Maxine Dunnam Childs and three nephews and their families.

Ken is preceded in death by his parents, Thurman O’Dell Dunnam and Eula Anneta Wallace Dunnam, and his wife Barbara Ann Wilder Dunnam.

A viewing for Ken will be held on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, from 10:00am to 12:00pm at Cook-Walden Davis Funeral Home, 2900 Williams Drive, Georgetown, Texas 78628. A graveside service will be held on the same day at 1:30pm at Onion Creek Memorial Park, 11614 Chapel Lane, Austin, Texas 78748.