Billye Dunkerly

Our sweet, loving, funny Miss Billye left us on Tuesday afternoon, June 23, 2015. Billye Jenkins Dunkerly, 89, was born in Young Harris, Georgia on February 9, 1926. She has left behind her daughter, Susan Kolb, her son-in-law, David Kolb, and her beloved grandsons, Charlie, 28, and Will, 25. A Georgia mountain girl, Billye moved to Atlanta just before WWII, contributing to the war effort by being a “Rosie the Riveter” at the Bell Aircraft plant in Marietta (and jitterbugging all night). In 1952, she married Jim Dunkerly and had her only child, Susan, in 1955. Divorced in 1961, she raised her daughter alone, lovingly, and well. With only a high school education, Billye worked her way from the front desk to managing the reservations department of one of the most prestigious resort hotels in the country, the Grand Hotel, in Point Clear, Alabama. Her intelligence, always-gracious ways, and southern-belle charm allowed her to excel in a male-dominated workplace (though she often pointed out that she was paid half what the men were paid, even though she was raising a family, too.) In 1995, Billye moved with Susan, and her family, to Durango. She described her years in Colorado as the best time of her life. Always in love with the hotel business, she took a job at the Rochester Hotel, working into her 80s with a group of young people she came to love as her own family. Through her work, her church, her art group, her love of bluegrass music and her family, Billye touched the lives and hearts of many people. We will all miss her terribly.
A private family service will be held at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Durango on Friday, July 10. A Celebration of Life open house will be held from 3:00 PM until 9:00 PM, Saturday, July 11 at Susan’s home in Hesperus, Colorado. Please join us for laughter, tears, funny “Billye stories”, her favorite barbecue, and, of course, bluegrass music. Just drop in or stay all evening. Contact Susan for directions: (970) 759-2727 or susankolb55@gmail.com
In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Parkinson’s Foundation:
Parkinson's Disease Foundation, 1359 Broadway, Suite 1509, New York, NY 10018 or online at http://support.pdf.org/