1938 – 2022
The title of a popular 1950s song, the name of a beloved yacht, a way of life for 89 years…The Wayward Wind blew through the life of James Brownie Dunn from start, on July 21, 1933, to finish, on August 6, 2022.
Born in Nashville, Georgia, the son of a bridge builder, Brownie attended 17 different schools from North Carolina to Florida before landing in Germany with the U.S. Army Security Agency during the Korean War (some would call the agency "spies and spooks"; others will recognize it by its slogan "In God We Trust, All Others We Monitor"). He swept through the University of Florida where, he liked to say, he "studied civil engineering and women," and became a lifelong Gator fan before at age 25 inheriting and expanding his father's Ready Mix company.
Whether the currents in his life moved through air, land, or water, Brownie sailed and motored through them, piloting single-engine planes, motorcycles and cars, and boats of all sizes. Surf fishing, scuba diving, and snorkeling for scallops in Port St. Joe were passions that only magnified his love of the sea…and afforded him the chance to fry up his favorite seafood with friends, for whom he'd "fix you a cocktail of your choice."
Although the wayward wind in Brownie made him seem restless, his meticulous focus on collecting, restoring, and displaying old woodworking planes, rifles and pistols, fishing lures, and Victorinox knives demanded calmness…and sometimes delivered a good laugh. He never threw away a key, resulting in a collection of dozens that were seemingly unrelated and useless until one camping trip when his campsite patio was blocked by a John Deere tractor, for which the campground owner didn't have the key. Brownie said, "Wait a minute," and plucked just the right one from a weighty ring.
Keys of another kind, the island variety, fed Brownie's wanderlust and satisfied his yearnings: the Florida Keys, where he retired for the first time "while I was young enough to enjoy it" on his beloved Wayward Wind, docking at Faro Blanco and Palm Island; St. George Island, where he met another beloved, his wife Janet Faulkner; and the Bahamas, where he sailed through every form of weather and tide, from hurricanes to doldrums.
Wherever Brownie wandered, he captivated friends and family with his devilish sense of humor, his love of port wine and puppies, and his "it is what it is" philosophy. You were lucky if you received one of his thoughtful and entertaining letters or heard him talk about the latest good book. He was always ready to share a beer and a story with his brothers Ed and Phillip Dunn, his brother-in-law Buddy Clark, or his many nieces and nephews; to share a beer and a birthday cake with pal Max Meredith; and to make fast friends of his custom-home clients in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and his neighbors in Port St. Joe, Florida, where he retired for the second time.
No more "the next of kin to the wayward wind," Brownie will be buried in a private service with military honors in Milton, Fla. on October 22, 2022, with Janet, his treasured companion of 45 years, and other family members in attendance.
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