Charles Vernon Dunham
Charles Vernon Dunham
Charles Vernon Dunham
March 23, 1929 – March 30, 2018
Deep River, Iowa | Age 89
Served With Honor ~ United States Military Veteran
Chuck Vernon Dunham, 89, of Deep River passed away peacefully Friday evening, March 30, 2018 at his home in Deep River. He was born March 23, 1929 in Scotia, N.Y. to Roy Owen Dunham and Elodie Johnson Dunham. He was the fourth of five children, Richard, Jane, Robin, Charles and Sylvia.
Chuck graduated from Scotia High School at age sixteen and studied at Hamline University in St. Paul, MN.
During the Korean War he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army from 1951 until 1952, including a tour of duty in occupied Germany.
Following Army duty, he purchased the Grayson County News in Leitchfield, KY., the first of 22 newspapers published by the Dunham family, often as many as five at a time. In 1958, Chuck acquired the Deep River Record, and from Deep River he continued a 50 plus year career with weekly newspapers.
In 1971 he and Shirley Richardson-Thompson were married and he became the father of a readymade family of a wife and four little boys. In October of 1972, Chuck and Shirley became parents of another little boy, Roy Christopher. They made their home in Deep River, celebrating their 46th wedding anniversary November 2, 2017.
Chuck was political junkie, running for senator on the Republican ticket twice. He was a member of the Deep River Methodist Church, Lions Club, Republican Party and Deep River American Legion. The Dunham family loved camping in the Adirondacks Mountains and spent many summer vacations there.
Survivors include his wife Shirley and son Roy of Deep River, sons Dave (& Julie) Thompson of Davenport; Kenny (& Tammy) Thompson of Concord, AR; Brian Thompson of Concord, AR,. Jeff (& Julie) Thompson of Webster, and sister Sylvia Bouve of NH; seven grandchildren; and several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his sisters, Jane Linck of New York, and Sylvia Smith of Connecticut.
Services will be Thursday, April 12, 2018 at Holland – Coble Funeral Home Montezuma, at 10:30 a.m.
Charles had donated his body to the University of Iowa Hospital.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Chuck’s honor to P.A.L.S. Animal Shelter, Grinnell or Steven Animal Shelter, Oskaloosa.
