Dial Mathew Dunkin

Harlingen, TX - On Tuesday, April 22, 2025, the Lord called home a true South Texas industry icon. Banker, financier, sportsman and adventurer, Dial Mathew Dunkin went serenely to the next life, quietly passing at his home, surrounded by his loving family.

Dial was born May 21, 1935, in Harlingen, Texas. As a life-long resident, he attended Harlingen schools and graduated from Harlingen High School in 1953.

After high school he attended Texas A&M, majored in finance and graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in 1957. After his freshman year, he married LaNell White and had two sons and two daughters from this union. Upon completing college, he joined the United States Air Force and was stationed at England Air Force Base in Alexandria, Louisiana where he became Lieutenant in charge of the Base Finance Department. In 1960 he was given an honorable discharge and returned to join the Harlingen National Bank, where he became Executive Vice President of Lending.

In 1962 the Harlingen Air Force base was closed by the government, creating an economic disaster for Harlingen. Fortunately, Dial understood Air Force operations and entered into an agreement with two tailors in San Antonio to finance the dress uniforms of graduating officers from Lackland and Randolph Air Bases. To facilitate the financing of these uniforms, Dial was able to persuade the officers to open checking accounts whereby their military pay was deposited automatically every month. In turn, this financing program helped the bank through the hard times following the base closure. This department became known as World Wide Banking and was expanded to air bases all over the world. As a result of this unique financing offer, many of the officers remained customers of the bank even after they retired.

Ever the entrepreneur, Dial was always keen to recognize good business opportunities. Such an opportunity presented itself in 1967 when he decided to establish a credit insurance agency. This company, Dial Dunkin & Associates, later became the largest such agency in Texas providing credit insurance products to the banking industry.

While enjoying the success of his expanding insurance agency, tragedy struck on a very personal level. In November of 1968 his parents and sister-in-law were killed in car accident south of Rosenberg, Texas. At the time, Dial's father was the president of Harlingen National Bank. To ameliorate his personal tragedy and ensure the continued operation of Harlingen National Bank, Dial with guidance from his attorney Rollins Koppel, was able to gain control of the bank through a Voting Trust. He later became Chief Executive Officer of the bank, a position he held until it sold in October 1999.

Dial always had a love for tropical plants. In the early 1970's he decided to open Valley Palms, a wholesale nursery on the outskirts of Harlingen. Within a few years he opened a retail nursery, Greenhouse Garden Center. Even though he was not trained in botany or in landscape architecture, he had a very creative eye for unique plants and unusual landscaping techniques. Many of the plants he acquired were sourced during extensive trips to Mexico, where he would hunt for exotic plants. He especially loved palm trees and was a lifelong member of the Palm Society.

A natural outdoorsman, hunter and fisherman, Dial started hunting birds in Mexico in the 1960's. As a result of his Mexico hunting adventures, he built Alta Vista Lodge in 1980, the largest hunting and fishing facility of its kind in the world. Located on the newly impounded Lake Guerrero, a lake internationally famous for Black Bass fishing, Alta Vista catered to individuals and corporations from around the world, where private aircraft were accommodated on a private, 5000' lighted runway beside the lodge. He later sold Alta Vista and built another world-class lodge, Rancho Mariposa on nearby Lake San Lorenzo, where he provided classic outdoor adventures, all while cultivating a commercial crop of Blue Agave on his adjacent farm. All of Dial's lodges were renowned for world-class excursions for dove, duck, goose, quail and bass. Unfortunately, in 2010 he had to abandon Rancho Mariposa Lodge, as well as his dreams to provide future commercial enterprises in Mexico, when the Mexican Drug Cartels threatened to kidnap and kill him.

In the mid 1990's, Dial discovered the unrivaled Tarpon and Snook fishing along the coast of Quintana Roo, south of Cancun. There he built Paradise Lodge, an intimate fishing facility designed to provide personalized service for just four patrons at a time. He then set out to explore and identify the numerous hidden lagoons that could provide once-in-a-lifetime fishing experiences. Many of these lagoons were Cenotes where fish would enter and exit the Caribbean with the tides. This unique, private lodge with its hidden lagoons was later featured on many sport fishing programs and in several newspapers and sporting magazines. The fishing offered at Paradise Lodge was truly a world-class adventure for Tarpon and Snook.

Dial had always been an avid fisherman, beginning with the local Harlingen resacas and canals as a boy. In the 1960's he built three "scooter-style" tunnel fishing boats so he could fish the shallows of the Laguna Madre. He would use the back room at Gray's Cabinet Shop in the evenings and on weekends to build his scooters. Dial's home-made design and creation of these shallow water skiffs came long before similar shallow water boats were commercially available. By 1970 he had progressed from fishing the Laguna Madre to fishing offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. His first offshore boat was a 23' Formula Sport Fisherman. He would leave the dock at 4:00am and run until the sun broke the horizon before setting his lines to troll for billfish, tuna and mackerel. He also owned a 53' Hatteras that he kept in Chub Cay, Bahamas. He caught hundreds of pelagic game fish in his lifetime and always had a love for the crystal-clear, blue-black waters of the Gulf and Caribbean Deep. He won the Largest Marlin Trophy in the Port Mansfield International Fishing Tournament in the mid 1980's.

While at Texas A&M, he took a scuba diving course and fell in love with the sport. In the early 1960's he began diving in the areas near Cozumel and Isla Mujeres, Mexico. He once dove on the wreck of a Spanish Galleon at the site where present day Akumal, Quintana Roo is located. He took hundreds of underwater photographs on these dive trips and would often be invited to give presentations of his adventures at service clubs. Spearfishing on these dives provided a great opportunity for fresh fish and he would take his spear equipment whenever a dive permitted. Once, he and his dive partner Buddy Moose, even speared and retrieved a Giant Grouper weighing 425 lbs.

After selling the Harlingen National Bank in 1999, he bought a house in Douglas, South Africa. He partnered with a South African hunting guide; Raymond Theron, and they provided plains animal hunts.

Dial traveled and hunted extensively in Africa where he was able to achieve a Grand Slam of the Big Five: Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Rhinoceros and Cape Buffalo. After hunting Africa, he began a quest for trophy sheep all over the world. These hunts required extensive travel and physical effort including horseback riding and many miles of hiking at high mountain elevations. His favorite hunting adventure was in Mongolia where he completed his quest for a Grand Slam for Rams.

Ever the businessman, in 2010 Dial acquired Heavenly Grace Cemetery in Harlingen. In its infancy at the time of acquisition, he expanded the operation to include extensive landscaping, contemplative nooks and seating areas, a complete mortuary facility and a state-of-the-art crematorium. In 2015, Service Corporation International (SCI), North America's leading provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services purchased the facility.

Dial was always a very generous person. He provided multiple scholarships to Texas A&M University as well as financial support to the Harlingen Boys and Girls Club, The Palm Society, Coastal Conservation Association, Safari Club International, Texas Wildlife Association, Ducks Unlimited, National Rifle Association, Texas State Rifle Association, American Bankers Association, National Bankers Association, Independent Bankers Association of Texas, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Harlingen Chamber of Commerce, Texas Funeral Directors Association, National Funeral Directors Association, Texas Cemeteries & Crematories Association and numerous local fundraising efforts.

Dial is survived by LaNell White Dunkin, Anna Louise "Weezie" Hansen Dunkin (deceased), Esperanza Escudero Perez Dunkin, Fidela Diaz Dunkin. His children include Doak M. Dunkin (Nora), Peggy Dunkin O'Brien (David), Wade Dunkin (Lisa), and Sandra Dunkin Wells (David). His stepchildren include Donette Hansen (Shiela), Douglas Dunkin (Darling), Houston F. Dunkin deceased (Kay). His grandchildren include Doak M: Mariska, Doak C. (Jennifer); Peggy: Tim (Ashley); Wade: Kelli, David, Carole, Christopher, Lauren and Andy; Sandra: Lexie, Madeline, Mathew and James; Douglas: Lloyd and Anna Louise; Houston: Kristien Champion (Wesley), James, Dial C., and Katie; and 24 great-grandchildren.

Funeral Services for Dial Dunkin will be at Heavenly Grace Cemetery, Monday, April 28 at 2:00pm. Viewing will commence at noon. The Pallbearers will be Tim O'Brien, Doak C. Dunkin, Mathew Tipton, James Tipton, Dial C. Dunkin, Lloyd Dunkin. Donations can be made to the Harlingen Boys & Girls Club.

Special thanks to personal providers Rudy and Maria Villafranco, the Amor Enterno Agency, Caring Hands Hospice, and Palliative Care, and Sofia Salvador-Dominguez who dedicated 25 years of personal service to Dial.

Rarely does an individual do so much for so many. Dial supported Harlingen his entire life, both in word and deed, taking on many challenges for the good of the people and the area. He loved Harlingen, and he threw himself into supporting the growth and betterment of this beautiful place he called home. He was a giant in South Texas banking and industry. He was loved by many and he will be missed.