Gene Dunaway Obituary

Gene Trayser Dunaway CHARLESTON - Commander Gene Trayser Dunaway (USN, Ret.), 81, died November 2, 2009 at the Hospice Center in Mount Pleasant, SC after a prolonged illness with Parkinson's disease. Gene Dunaway was born in Pine Bluff, AR on December 30, 1927 to Witt Allen and Dorothy Trayser Dunaway. His Dunaway ancestors settled the Arkansas Territory. He attended the Citadel for one year and then accepted an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. He graduated from Annapolis in 1950 and later obtained a Masters Degree in International Business from George Washington University. He was a U.S. Navy line officer for twenty years - retiring in 1970 as a Commander. After his Naval retirement he worked for the Nestle Company in White Plains, NY and later for the Eaton Corporation in Danbury, CT. In 1998 he retired to Charleston, SC, his wife's birthplace. As a Naval Officer, Cdr. Dunaway saw service aboard numerous vessels: rubber rafts directing shore bombardments, wood hulled minesweepers, and helicopter carriers. He served two combat tours in Korea and was an advisor to the Turkish Navy in Golcuk, Turkey. He was Commanding Officer of the USS Vesole, a destroyer. Later he worked at the Pentagon and the Center for Naval Analysis. After retiring from the Navy he lived in New Canaan, CT for twenty eight years. His family would say that staying in one place for twenty eight years was to make up for the 19 moves in twenty years in the Navy! In Connecticut he was a principal fundraiser for Hospice of Connecticut and served on the Water Board of New Canaan. In Charleston he enjoyed belonging to the Bund, the Naval Academy Association, the Friends of the Daniel Library, and the Charleston Library Society. Most of all he loved travelling all over the world with his wife and sons. He and his wife of 57 years, Joyce Conlon Dunaway, were married at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston. He is survived by his wife; his sons and daughter-in-law Dr. and Mrs. Michael Trayser Dunaway of Camden, SC and Rhett Conlon Dunaway of Charleston, SC; his grandchildren Michael, Yancey and Sally Dunaway, all of Camden, SC; and his brother and sister-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. William A. Dunaway of St. Louis, MO. The family will receive visitors at the James A. McAlister Funeral Home, 1620 Savannah Highway, this Thursday evening between 6:00 and 8:00 PM. A Prayer Service will begin at 7:30 PM. Internment will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Charleston Foundation, 676 Wando Park Boulevard, Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464. A Condolence may be made to his Guest Book at www.charlestonfunerals.com Arrangements by JAMES A. MCALISTER, INC. 766-1365. Visit our guestbook at www.postandcourier.com/deaths