Mary E Dunn

Mary Elizabeth Lyerly Dunn, aged 90, passed away at Baptist Hospital in Montgomery, Alabama on Monday, February 9, 2015. She is survived by her daughter Rebecca Anne Dunn of Montgomery, her sons David Earl Dunn III (Amb. Amy Bondurant) of Washington, DC, Robert Hardaway Wright Dunn of Banks, and Dr. John Wesley Reese Dunn (Pat) of Montgomery; and her grandchildren Wesley Dunn of Atlanta, William David Dunn of New York, Reese Dunn (Jennifer) of Auburn, David Edwin Dunn of Jackson Hole, Wyoming and David Bondurant Dunn of Charleston, South Carolina. She was predeceased in 2005 by her husband of sixty years, Dr. David Earl Dunn Jr.

She was raised in Columbus, Georgia by her parents William Lyerly and Anne Louise Lyerly Broaddus, and grandparents Robert Hardaway and Annie Lee Wright. Elizabeth Dunn was a graduate of the University of Alabama and became a resident of Montgomery following her marriage in 1944. She and her family have been life members of the Church of the Ascension of Montgomery.

She was an active leader in the Montgomery Junior League, an advocate for the mentally ill through the Alabama State Medical Association, was Alabama Journal ‘Mother of the Year’ in 1961, a member of the National Democratic Women’s Committee and active in the National Democratic Party for most of her adult years. Montgomery-born screenwriter John Vereen Cork based his lead female character, played by Cissy Spacek in the 1990 film “Long Walk Home”, in part on Elizabeth Dunn’s actions during the 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Graveside services will be held at Greenwood Cemetery on Friday, February 13, at 11am. The family would appreciate contributions in memory of Elizabeth Dunn be made to the Church of the Ascension of Montgomery. The family will receive friends at her home between 4 and 6pm Thursday evening, February 12.