Mary Windley Dunn Tillman

Mary Windley Dunn Tillman, 72, died Saturday, March 24, at UNC Hospitals following a brief illness. Her family was at her side. Born on June 28, 1934, in New Bern, NC, Mrs. Tillman was the daughter of the late John Guion Dunn and Margaret Gibbs Dunn. She graduated from New Bern High School in 1952. A 1954 graduate of St. Mary's Junior College in Raleigh, NC, she went on to earn an AB in Education at UNC Chapel Hill in 1956. While at UNC she was a member of Chi Omega sorority.
Following her graduation from Carolina, Mrs. Tillman taught high school English at Fayetteville High School for a year. After her marriage to Rollie Tillman Jr., she worked in the UNC Placement Service office. She then worked in the Office of the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University, while her husband completed his graduate work at Harvard. Later, when her children were older, she spent 17 years working as a real estate broker in Chapel Hill.
A member of the Church of the Holy Family, Mrs. Tillman served the church in various capacities over the years including Sunday School Superintendent and teacher, vestry member, member of the properties committee, and Junior Warden. She spent many years on the Altar Guild's flower committee and served on the Committee for Renewal for the Diocese of North Carolina.
Active in her community, Mrs. Tillman was both an active and sustaining member of the Junior Service League. She served on the Orange County Committee for the 1976 celebration of the US Bicentennial and as co-chairman of the Spring House tour for the Chapel Hill Preservation Society. She was a member of the Durham-Orange Chapter of the National Society of Colonial Dames, and served as treasurer and chairman of that group at one time. She was a charter member of her garden club and served as Alumni House board member and scholarship advisor of the Chi Omega sorority at UNC.
Most importantly, Mrs. Tillman was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who exemplified grace and had a gift of hospitality that will not soon be forgotten. She is survived by her husband of 50 years, Rollie Tillman Jr.; three children, daughter Mary Windley Tillman Pratt and husband, Michael of Southern Pines, NC; daughter Jane Guion Tillman of West Stockbridge, MA; and son Rollie Tillman III and wife, Melissa of Raleigh. Also surviving are four grandchildren, Michael Guion Pratt, John Windley Pratt, Rollie Tillman IV, and Eliza Dunn Tillman. A sister, Margaret Gibbs Dunn Toms, and husband, Herb of Raleigh; a brother, John Guion Dunn III, and wife, Mary Ann of New Bern; a sister-in-law, Jane Tillman Blackburn and husband Charles of Henderson also survive her. Her extended family includes many cousins, nieces, nephews, and close friends.
A memorial service will be held at the Church of the Holy Family on Hayes Road in Chapel Hill on Tuesday, March 27 at 10:00 a.m., with the Rev. Timothy Kimbrough officiating.
The family will receive friends at the church immediately following the service.
A private interment will be held at a later date at Christ Episcopal Church in New Bern.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Church of the Holy Family, 200 Hayes Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27517, or to St. Mary's School, 900 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh, NC 27603.
Arrangements by the Cremation Society of the Carolinas.