Harry Melvin Dunn  (1891-1978)

  Branch:  Dunn ~ Level:  GP

Harry Melvin was born in Grinnell Iowa on December 27, 1891 in Grinnell, Iowa.  He was the son of Amos “Wilbur” Dunn and Alice Shields Dunn.  He attended school in Grinnell and graduate from Grinell High School.  He was a member of the Grinell High School football team that was Iowa State Champions in 19XX.

He married Bertha Swaney on June 2, 1915 in Grinnell, Iowa at the age of 23 .  Harry and Bertha had three children:  Fay (Rustie), Harry Jr (Tootie) and Joanne.

He worked for the Rock Island Railroad and was the depot manager in Grinnell.  While in school he also attended classes at Grinnell College.  Their family enjoyed vacationing during the summer in Black Hills in South Dakota.  They would stay at the Hisega Lodge.  He taught his children to play tennis and later they would take care of the clay tennis courts at Grinnell College.  All three children were successful tennis players and are in the Iowa Tennis Hall of Fame.

Later in 1938 he and his family moved to Des Moines where he continued to work for the Rock Island Railroad and after retiring from the railroad in 1956, he and Bertha moved to Pasadena, California where Joanne and Fay lived with their families.  In retirement he worked as a barber.  He passed away on July 19, 1978 at the age of 86 while living in Fallbrook, California.

Other information on Harry is:

• He never owned a car.
• Liked to play checkers.
• He was skilled at juggling.
• When swimming he could float on his back for hours.
• Built a tennis court in Grinnell, lined with lime.
• Took care of Grinnell College’s clay courts, watered and rolled.