Jay Dunnahoo

Jay Bret Dunnahoo, 81, of Kerrville, Texas passed away Saturday, May 12, 2018 at Peterson Regional Medical Center with his family at his side. He proudly accepted Christ's offer of a podium position conducting His heavenly symphony.\r\n\r\nJay was born June 18, 1936 in Raymondville, Texas, to the late Chester and Mildred Flinn Dunnahoo. He had one sibling, an older brother, the late Thomas Dunnahoo. \r\n\r\nThe family lived in several Rio Grande Valley communities before settling in San Marcos when Jay was eight, where he remained for his undergraduate studies at Southwest Texas State Teacher's College (now Texas State University).\r\n\r\nSince his parents had earlier promised Jay that he could learn to play the violin, as was his request upon hearing a violinist while attending the First Presbyterian Church of Mercedes, they engaged the college violin professor to take him on as a student. Jay studied with Mr. Bek during his remaining nine years of public school in San Marcos, and then for an additional 3.5 years while he was a music major at Southwest Texas State Teachers College. Jay earned membership in the Texas All-State Orchestra during each of his four high school years. While in college, he also marched in the band as a tuba player. \r\n\r\nWhile in high school, Jay met his lifetime sweetheart, Mary Joanne (Jodie) Dollahite. Since most teachers seated their students in alphabetical order, they often sat adjacent to one another. Jay and Jodie married on January 18, 1958 and immediately moved to San Angelo, Texas, where Jay began his career as an itinerant elementary school strings teacher, serving the school district's 13 elementary schools. He also became a violinist in the San Angelo Symphony Orchestra.\r\n\r\nJay had joined the Texas National Guard as an enlisted member while in high school, and later received a commission as a second lieutenant when he reached age 21. During the summer of 1960, Jay served on active duty, attending the Basic Artillery Officer Course at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. He was discharged as a Captain in 1963.\r\n\r\nJay began playing in country-western bands during his high school years. "The Drifters" developed a strong following in the Central Texas Hill Country area and performed at several still notable venues including the Floore Country Store, Fischer, Gruene, and Dessau Dance Halls, the Continental Club, and the Devil's Backbone Tavern. To supplement a school teacher's salary in support of a young and growing family, Jay played the string bass in a San Angelo dance band, with broadened genres beyond country-western music. Following the move to Austin in 1960, Jay primarily played string bass in local bands led by Ken Ragsdale and Corkey Robinson. Later, he also performed in the Ernie Marquez dance band throughout the Houston area.\r\n\r\nFollowing the summer of 1960 at Fort Sill, the family moved to Austin, Texas where Jay began teaching elementary school orchestra and band in the Austin ISD. After the 1961-1962 school year, Jay was awarded an orchestra class at Baker Junior High School in addition to his itinerant elementary school teaching schedule. Then, from 1964-1966, he taught both the Lanier junior high school and the senior high school orchestras, as well as a few of the feeder elementary schools which matriculated to Lanier. The high school orchestra gave Jay his first opportunity to conduct a full orchestra, including brass, woodwinds and percussionists. During his second year at Lanier, the Austin ISD Instrumental Music Supervisor proclaimed that the Lanier High School orchestra was the best school orchestra in Austin.\r\n\r\nThe family included three children, Deborah Lou (Debbie), Timothy Jay (Tim), and Patrick Alan (Pat) until Michael Glen (Mike) was born in the summer of 1965. At that time, Jodie was completing her undergraduate degree in elementary education at the University of Texas. Beginning fall 1966, at the age of 30, Jay was hired as the coordinator of the Pasadena ISD orchestra program, as well as the orchestra teacher at the district's newest high school, Sam Rayburn. In addition, Jay taught at several of the district's intermediate schools.\r\n\r\nUpon their 1966 arrival in Pasadena, Texas, the Dunnahoo family became active congregational members of the First Presbyterian Church. Jay and Jodie sang in the church choir and both served as ruling church elders. In 1974, Jay became the church choir director and served in that capacity for the next 20 years.\r\n\r\nJay attended the University of Houston graduate school as a part-time student, where, in 1969, he earned a Master's degree in education. He immediately entered the doctoral program and received a Doctor of Education degree in the summer of 1975, at the age of 39. \r\nThe following school year (1975-1976), Jay returned to his teaching position at Sam Rayburn High School and his district-wide job, which was then augmented to include all instrumental music with a new title, Coordinator of Instrumental Music. It was an exceptional group of students who made up the orchestra, and they worked diligently preparing their recorded audition submittal for the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Honor Orchestra competition. A panel of TMEA judges selected Sam Rayburn as the 1976 State Honor Orchestra, which is synonymous to the state champion. \r\n\r\nIn 1980, Jay was selected by the PISD administration and school board to fill the vacancy for the Director of Music Education. Serving at the director level in the school administration, Jay was responsible for personnel and financial decisions and he also provided support for all music and dance teachers.\r\n\r\nFollowing ten years as Director of Music Education, at age 56, Jay retired from public education. He joined Mark Lisle in the Lisle Violin Shop in 1990 as the Educational Representative and contributed to the company's growth into a respected state-wide business.\r\n\r\nAfter a decade of successful years in sales, Jay and Jodie planned their move back to the Hill Country area. During the period 1974-1994, while Jay served as Director of Music at the Pasadena First Presbyterian Church, they had often attended the Presbyterian Music in Worship conference held each summer at Mo-Ranch, a Presbyterian conference center located along the Guadalupe River in the Hill Country, near Hunt, Texas. Jay had become a fixture on the week-long conference staff, as director of the conference orchestra and instrumental music facilitator. Passing through Kerrville each summer as they made their way to and from Mo-Ranch, Jay and Jodie dreamt of making Kerrville the location of their retirement home.\r\n\r\nFollowing construction of their home and relocation to Kerrville in May 1999, Jay and Jodie joined the First Presbyterian Church and began singing in the church choir. Jay accepted a conducting position with the Hill Country Youth Orchestra, a small group sponsored by the First United Methodist Church in Kerrville. Additionally, he joined the Hill Country Symphony Orchestra, a community orchestra sponsored by Schreiner University in Kerrville.\r\n\r\nDuring the fall of 2000, Jay conceptualized the Symphony of the Hills (SOH) with the president of Schreiner University, Dr. Tim Summerlin, and served as conductor and artistic director for the SOH during its initial 14 years, retiring upon conclusion of the 2014-2015 concert season. Following Jay's reign as the SOH conductor, he became conductor emeritus and played in the first violin section until fall 2017, when he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia.\r\n\r\nUpon retiring from public schools, Jay and Jodie began traveling extensively, including annual ski trips and international tours. For several years they spent three weeks in August on Purgatory Mountain near Durango, Colorado. They were able to take a final European vacation in 2016 on their favorite cruise line, Azamara Club Cruises. \r\n\r\nJay received two awards from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS). In 2007-2008 he received the NFHS Outstanding Music Educator Award for Section 6 of the association, representing Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. In July 2016, Jay was presented the national music citation from the association; the very first Texan to receive this award. \r\n\r\nJay was a member and officer in many educational, professional and service organizations. During high school he was a member of the National Honor Society and he was elected president of his senior class. As a college student, he pledged Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternity and served as president of the Gamma Phi chapter in 1957. While in Austin early in his career, he served as treasurer of the Austin Classroom Teachers Association. \r\n\r\nWhile living in Pasadena, Jay was elected treasurer of the Texas Unit of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and was elected Chairperson of Region XIX and state board member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA). He served terms as president of the Texas Music Educators Conference, the Texas Orchestra Directors Association (TODA) and the Texas Music Adjudicators Association (TMAA), where he also served as the Executive Secretary from 2000 until his passing. He was the founding chairperson of the Gulf Coast Music Administrators Council and served on the board of the Houston Youth Symphony and Ballet. \r\n\r\nJay was a 36-year member of Rotary International and was a Paul Harris Fellow. He was a founding vice president of the Pasadena Philharmonic Society, and later served as president. Jay was a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church, where he also served as founding chairperson of the Presbyterian Musicians of the New Covenant Presbytery.\r\n\r\nJay served as an associate conductor of both the San Angelo Municipal Band and the Pasadena Philharmonic Orchestra. He served twice as the manager/organizer of Texas High School All-State Orchestras and served countless times as summer music camp faculty, UIL music contest adjudicator, and as guest conductor/clinician for school festival groups.\r\n\r\nJay received the Leadership and Achievement Award from the TMEA in 1976 when the Sam Rayburn High School orchestra was named Honor Orchestra of Texas. In 1992 the TODA named him the Texas Orchestra Director of the Year and Southwest Texas State University, his alma mater, recognized Jay with an Outstanding Alumni Award for his contributions to and distinguished career in music education. In 2015, Schreiner University presented him with its Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award. In 2016, Sam Rayburn High School recognized Jay by presenting him with a Distinguished Faculty Award. \r\n\r\nJay is survived by his wife, Jodie of 60 years; four children, Debbie (Mark Syptak), Tim (Sylvia), Pat (Cheryl), and Mike (Susan); eight grandchildren, Sarah Christine Syptak (Justin) Hinrichs, Stephen Syptak, Daniel (Venessa) Syptak, Anna Syptak, Blake, Brandon, Erin and Megan Dunnahoo; two great-grandchildren, Brianna and Ryleigh Hinrichs.\r\n\r\nA Service of Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ giving thanks to God for the faith and life of Jay Dunnahoo will be held on Saturday, June 9th at 2:00 in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church of Kerrville (800 Jefferson Street). A reception will follow in the adjoining Ryan Hall.\r\n\r\nThose desiring to honor him are encouraged to make an online donation in memory of Jay Dunnahoo to the Hill Country Youth Orchestra; www.hcyo.org, and click on "Support HCYO Today." \r\n\r\nThe family is especially grateful for the six months of loving care provided to Jay by the staff of Texas Oncology and the infusion therapy nurses and staff at the Peterson Ambulatory Care Center.\r\n\r\n