Thomas “Tom” D. Dunn Jr., 84, of Salina, passed away on February 19, 2024. Tom was preceded in death by his father and mother, Thomas D. Dunn Sr., Mary Lucille Dunn, and infant sister, Mary Ellen.
Tom was born on May 23, 1939, in Manhattan, Kansas. He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Lou Ann, of the home, children: Shanna Marie Dunn-Vigare, (Samuel Tyler Vigare), Topeka, Thomas Arthur Dunn, Colorado Springs, Colorado, grandchildren: Lucy Olivia Vigare, Topeka, Isaac Thomas Dunn and Eliana Rose Dunn, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and brother-in-law: Paul D. McKinnon, Salina.
Growing up in Manhattan, Tom enjoyed pursuing outdoor and sporting activities. He belonged to a highly active Boy Scout Troop which he credited with helping to shape his future. As a youth, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. In later life, while in Salina, he served as President for the Coronado Area Boy Scouts and was awarded the Silver Beaver award for his outstanding service to scouting.
Tom graduated from Manhattan High school in 1957. He was the first person at Manhattan High to letter in four sports. It was at Manhattan High, where he met Lou Ann.
Following graduation from Manhattan High, he enrolled at Kansas State University, where he pursued dual degrees in Geology and Business Administration. At K-State, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta social fraternity and Sigma Gamma Epsilon honorary geology fraternity.
Tom was the starting third baseman for the K-State baseball team for three years. He was selected for the NCAA 5th District All-Star Team his senior year. In 1961, he signed a baseball contract with the Washington Senators and played that summer for their team in the Appalachian League.
In the fall of 1962, Tom returned to K-State for the fifth year needed to complete his dual degree. He received an ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in February 1963. He coached the K-State freshman baseball team that spring. His devotion to K-State continued throughout his life. He was one of the founders of Colbert Hills Golf Course.
Tom delayed his active military service to accept a unique position with Chevron Oil Company. He went to work for Chevron in their geophysical department. He served on seismic and telluric current crews in West Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, and attended Chevron’s seismic computer school in New Orleans.
In May 1963, Tom reported to Fort Sill, Oklahoma for Artillery Officer Basic Training. At that time, he learned his next assignment would be to Korea, which was considered by the service to be a hardship tour. He and Lou Ann were married at K-State’s Danforth Chapel on August 8, 1963. Shortly after, Tom left for Korea where he became an artillery forward observer stationed on the DMZ.
While in Korea, Tom was a player coach of a division baseball team and played on an Eighth Army All-Star baseball team. The Army All-Star team played in the Eight Republics of Korea Goodwill Baseball Matches in Seoul. Tom said it was the best baseball he had ever played, and he earned a brass trophy from the Goodwill Matches.
After his tour in Korea, the Army assigned Tom to the First Infantry Division at Fort Riley, Kansas. He expected Fort Riley to be his last assignment in the military, so he and Lou Ann built a car wash in Manhattan as a business venture.
A few months later the Vietnam War intensified, and Tom was selected to attend Jungle Warfare School in Hawaii for four weeks of specialized training. In October of 1965, Tom and his unit boarded a troop train at Fort Riley and rode it to Oakland, California. From there, they boarded the USS Blatchford and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge in route to Vietnam with a short stop in Naha, Okinawa.
In Vietnam, Tom soon received the rank of Captain. For six months he was the artillery liaison officer for the first of the Twenty-eighth “Black Lions” Infantry Battalion. He then became a liaison officer for Division Artillery on special assignments. In May 1966, he was awarded an extra R&R in Bangkok for his special assignment performance. Tom’s first R&R was to join Lou Ann in Hong Kong over Christmas 1965.
After Vietnam, Tom was assigned to Airborne School at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), Georgia. He was selected as the Distinguished Officer Graduate of the class and received an engraved trophy of a paratrooper at the school’s graduation ceremony.
His next assignment was to Fort Sill to attend the Artillery Career Course. While there, Tom and several other officers were recognized at an awards ceremony. Tom received an Army Commendation Award, the Air Medal with oak leaf cluster and the bronze star.
At Fort Sill, Tom began to invest in the stock market at the A.G. Edwards and Sons branch in Lawton, Oklahoma. Eventually, he received a job offer from the branch manager, who was a retired Colonel.
The Army reassigned Tom to Fort Riley to become an Honest John Rocket Battery Commander. He then became the Headquarters and Headquarters Company Commander of the 24th Infantry division which was now located at Fort Riley.
In his free time, and with help from his Manhattan background, Tom was able to build a service station in the Aggieville area of Manhattan. In December 1969, the Army announced that company grade officers who had completed their service obligation would be free to leave the service. Tom was on the promotion list for Major, so he needed to act quickly.
A.G. Edwards had an opening in Salina, Kansas, and because Tom had just built a service station nearby in Manhattan, he accepts the position in Salina over the Lawton opening. In January 1970, he became a broker with A. G. Edwards in Salina.
The oil embargo of 1973 changed the dynamics of the gasoline business as well as the economy. It had a significant negative effect on interest rates and inflation for several years. In 1973, Tom built his first Shop Quik convenience store in the Aggieville area of Manhattan, and he left A. G. Edwards in October 1973, to pursue the expansion of Tom Dunn Oil Co., a Vickers Petroleum distributorship which he owned. He purchased more service stations, convenience stores, and rural bulk plants and switched from Vickers to become the largest American Petrofina distributor in Kansas. At that time, he was developing other commercial real estate to lease including three fast food restaurants and La Hacienda Restaurant in Salina. He continued to invest in the stock market, bond market, and land purchases. In the 1980s, he sold his gasoline and diesel fuel business to free more time to make other types of investments and to better manage his current ones. Following a period of investing with various partners with mixed results, he elected to focus on his personal interests, which also created time to pursue his avocations. He went to flight school and became a pilot during this period.
For 16 years, Tom served on the advisory board of Bunting Magnetics Manufacturing, an international manufacturing corporation headquartered in Newton, Kansas with plants in England.
In 2005, at the urging of friends and because of his geological background, he became a managing partner of Kansas-Oklahoma Oil and Gas Co.(K-OK), an oil and gas exploration and production partnership. The company enjoyed success and has had several producing oil wells in Cowley County, Kansas.
Tom served as President of his homeowner’s association. He has been active in the First Presbyterian Church of Salina, where he was an elder, a trustee, a deacon and was the founding manager of their foundation. He also was the founding president for the Kansas Technical School’s (now Kansas State University of Salina’s) Foundation, and a founding member of the Salina’s Art Center Foundation. He has served on the City of Salina’s Parks and Recreation board, Salina YMCA board, St. John’s Military School board, Salina’s Habitat for Humanity board, St. John’s Hospital board, and Salina Country Club board.
Tom is a past member of the Kansas State University’s School of Business advisory board, American Petrofina’s jobber council in Dallas, Salina’s National Bank of America board, and a past member of Rotary, Grainman’s, Salina’s Grid Iron Club, and member and past president of Kansas State University’s Central Kansas President’s Club. He was a founding member of Salina Baseball, Inc., and supported Salina’s American Legion baseball teams for 22 years. He and Lou Ann were founding members of the Artist in Residence Series, and he was an active member of the First Infantry Division Society.
In 2002, Tom was asked to join the Salina Symphony Board as president in a time of reorganization and transition. Following his two years as president, and as a sign of appreciation, the symphony board made him a lifetime honorary board member.
Tom was a loving husband, father, and grandfather. He was passionate about the outdoors. He enjoyed sharing his knowledge while teaching others how to appreciate wildlife. He was dedicated to his work.
There will be a funeral service at 11 AM, Thursday, March 7, 2024, at First Presbyterian Church, 308 S. 8th St, Salina, KS. Following the service there will be a reception for family and friends at Salina Country Club, 2101 E. Country Club Rd.
Memorials may be made to the Salina Symphony, First Presbyterian Church, Salina, and Salina Animal Services in care of Ryan Mortuary, 137 N. Eighth Street, Salina, Kansas 67401.