Mary Dunn

1931 - 2025

Mary Dunn

March 31, 1931 - November 4, 2025

Mary Anna Peck Dunn went peacefully to her heavenly home on November 4th. Her loving children were with her in her home in Greensboro, NC.

Mary Anna was born the second of five children on March 31, 1931, in Charlotte, NC, to Irene Taylor Peck and Lewis Bernard Peck. Her family moved from Salisbury to Albemarle when she was 6, where she attended first grade through high school, graduating in 1949 from Albemarle High School. Mary Anna graduated with a degree in Secretarial Administration from Women's College in 1953. In 1985, she obtained a second degree in Visual Arts from UNCG.

Mary Anna met the love of her life, Presley Zachary (P.Z.) Dunn Jr., in October of 1953, while working as a secretary to the dean of admissions of the UNC Medical School. They married in August of 1954. Theirs was a long and happy marriage.

In 1960, P.Z. opened his first pediatric practice in Statesville, NC, where they lived for 8 years before moving to Winston-Salem when P.Z. joined Pediatric Associates. Their home became a hub of gatherings for potlucks and old-time string band jam sessions and was always a welcoming place for family and friends.

Mary Anna was a nature lover, an outdoor enthusiast, and an avid bird watcher. She led her family on many memorable hikes through the mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Her children, and later grandchildren, have many fond memories of camping at Fiddler's Grove and spending time with their Mama D. and Papa D.

Mary Anna was very creative and excelled at everything she did, whether cooking, sewing, knitting, making music, drawing, sculpting, creating beautiful stained-glass pieces and watercolor paintings, or dancing. She took great pleasure in sharing her many talents. Over the years, she gave away many of her creations, including paintings, notecards, bookmarks, blankets, rag rugs, and Christmas stockings. She helped start The Winston-Salem Country Dancers through Fiddle and Bow, and later, after moving to New Bern, where P.Z. worked with the North Carolina CDSA, they were performing members of the Craven Country Historical Dancers.

After retiring to Greensboro, Mary Anna became an avid family archivist. She traveled to the National Archives to gather information on her Revolutionary War ancestors and was a member of the DAR.

Mary Anna especially enjoyed being a grandparent, "Mama D.," to her 10 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. Mary Anna was preceded in death by her parents, Lewis Bernard Peck and Irene Taylor Peck; a beloved son, Douglas Collins Dunn; her beloved husband, Presley Zachary Dunn Jr., M.D; and her siblings, Pete, Irene, and Nancy.

Mary Anna is survived by her four children: Presley Zachary Dunn III, Jody Dunn Harvey (Henry), Lewis Taylor Dunn (Katie), William Shelton Dunn (Pam); her beloved sibling, Teeny (Betty) Anthony; 10 grandchildren, 10 great grandchildren, numerous nieces and nephews, extended family, her Mercy Hill Church family, and many friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 12 noon on Saturday, November 22, at Mercy Hill Church - Edgefield Road Campus, 3530 Edgefield Road, Greensboro, NC; visitation starting at 10:30 a.m. prior to the service.

Online condolences can be made at: triadfuneralservice.com. She requested that in lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Tunnels to Towers or Greensboro Urban Ministry.

TRIAD CREMATION AND FUNERAL SERVICE

2110 Servomation Road, Greensboro, NC 27407