Ann J. Dunkle

Ann Justine Furlong Dunkle, age 77, passed away on February 5, 2026. After being diagnosed with Glioblastoma in 2024, she quietly waged a courageous and valiant fight against the disease for two years, and never complained, even once.

Ann was an identical twin born to Eileen and Fredrick Furlong on December 9, 1948, in Delavan, Wisconsin. She grew up in Delaware, Ohio. Naturally curious, a lifelong learner, with strong spiritual beliefs, she held an unmatched penchant for books and was deeply committed to family, kids, and social justice. Ann was a friend to all she met.

In 1970, Ann earned a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Social Studies Education. In 1972, she earned a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Education. Both degrees were conferred by the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University.

On March 17, 1973, Ann married Dr. Todd Dunkle, and together they had four children: Erin (Zach) Stevens, Timothy Dunkle, Jeffrey (Elizabeth) Dunkle, and Bradley Dunkle. Family, particularly her kids, were the heart of Ann's life. She often juggled busy family schedules that included frequent trips for stitches to the ER for her overly active boys and sporting events for all her children. Still, Ann found time to garden, work, volunteer, bicycle and play an occasional game of golf. 

Ann was a woman of great faith and that faith was her call to action. Ann was vocal about social injustices and openly compassionate to those less fortunate. Her greatest gift was her innate ability to meet people where they were at without judgment. Unprecedented for the time, Ann and her 4 young children for several years participated in weekend long, federal prison retreats. Ann gave faith-based witness talks to hundreds of the most hardened of inmates, and even with her slight stature, soft voice and small child perched on her hip, she could quiet the loudest room and open the hearts of criminals doing life sentences. Ann had a unique gift and ability to meet people where they were at while freely giving hope and the promise of God's unconditional love to the most seemingly unreachable. Ann infused her witness talks with equal parts laughter and honesty. It was not uncommon for Ann to get hundreds of male inmates crooning along to the Oakridge Boy's, "Thank God for Kids." 

Deeply believing that all kids need an advocate and wanting to affect change, Ann decided to return to school as a non-traditional student to focus on becoming a school psychologist. It was not uncommon to see her with a pile of books and many legal pads, writing and rewriting notes for her dissertation late into the night, when her kids were asleep while baking 5 or 6 dozen of her legendary chocolate chip cookies.

In 2001, Ann earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD.) from the College of Health & Human Services at the University of Toledo. In doing so, Ann joined a rank and file achieved by few. In 2001, less than 1.5% of the U.S. population earned a doctorate degree with only 44% of them being women.

Ann worked as a school psychologist in Maumee, Ohio, and later in Greeley, Colorado public schools, where she touched countless lives through her compassion, unapologetic advocacy, and belief that all her students had great potential.

One of Ann's greatest loves was being a grandmother. Affectionately known as "Grammie," Ann openly doted on fourteen grandchildren: Bianca (Zach) Jarrett, Zachary Stevens, Kaelynn (Stephen) Bruemmer, Conner (Hayley) Stevens, Carter Stevens, Emerson, Breckin, Taylor, Reed, Claire, Carson, Cecilia, Waylon, and Jackson (Jack) Dunkle and three great-grandchildren: Demi Stevens, Penelope & Zane Jarrett. She loved her grandchildren unconditionally and spent much of her time hugging, singing, dancing, playing, and baking/cooking with them. 

She is also survived by many nieces and nephews whom she loved dearly, laughed with often and openly gushed about their many life achievements.

Ann is survived by six siblings: her identical twin sister, Alison (Kent) Pfeister; Kim Evans; Fred (Tami) Furlong; Tom (Kathleen) Furlong; Jon (Darnas) Furlong; and Kim (David) Swisher. She was preceded in death by her parents, Eileen and Frederick Furlong.

A viewing will be held on Friday, February 13, from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Walker Funeral Home in Sylvania, Ohio. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, February 14, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Joseph's Church, with a luncheon to follow. The Mass will be live streamed at www.stjoesylvania.org.

In lieu of flowers, Ann requested that donations be made to "Inheritance of Hope" (www.inheritanceofhope.org) or "Dream Foundation" (www.dreamfoundation.org).

We want to thank Ann's caregivers, who went above and beyond in their love and care for her. They collectively and individually gave Ann dignity, autonomy and agency in her life. Their compassion gave Ann a quality of life when quantity of time was fleeting. We remain grateful and indebted to Christy, Tierra, and Korie for your tremendous support of us all, especially Ann.