Robert D. “Doc” Dunham, DVM, the son of Glenn M. and Mary L. (Beckman) Dunham, was born May 3, 1923, in Westboro, Missouri. He graduated from high school in Westboro, and attended college at Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri, from 1941 to 1943. Doc then attended Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, receiving his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Degree in 1946.

On June 1, 1947, Doc was united in marriage to Margaret Irene Tuttle at St. Paul’s Methodist Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They became the parents of two children, Thomas Glenn and Nancy Anne.

Doc served in the Army Air Corps Pre-flight, and was later transferred to the Army Specialized Training Program at Iowa State University. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as 1st Lt. and served at Walter Reed in Washington, D.C. He also served at Ft. Meade, Maryland, with the 2nd Army Area Medical Laboratory as a Veterinary Laboratory Officer. Doc received his Honorable Discharge on March 9, 1948, with the rank of Captain. Upon discharge, Doc and Margaret then moved to Westboro, where he practiced general veterinary medicine for 40 years (1948-1988).

Doc was a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, Southwestern Iowa Veterinary Medical Association, Northwest Missouri Veterinary Medical Association, and Four-County Veterinary Association. He served nine years (2001-2010) on the Board of the Atchison County Health Center in Tarkio, Missouri, and 12 years on the Board of Directors of Community Hospital, Fairfax, Missouri. During this time, he helped implement a major rebuilding program. In 1957, Doc was elected as a Director to First National Bank, Tarkio. He remained on this Board through several bank mergers and retired from the newly named U.S. Bank Board in 2005, after 48 years of service.
Besides his parents and wife, Margaret, Doc was preceded in death by his son, Tom. Survivors include daughter, Nancy Dunham, Omaha, Nebraska; three grandchildren, Jennifer Hass (John Stubbs), Biddeford, Maine, Jeffrey Hass (Erica), Leawood, Kansas, Christina Kruse (Ryan), Lawrence, Kansas; two great-grandchildren, Nathan Stubbs and Cooper Hass.

Graveside Memorial Service and Inurnment:
10:00 a.m., Thursday, July 22, 2010, Center Grove Cemetery, Westboro.
There is no scheduled family visitation. A register book will be available to sign on Wednesday, July 21, 2010, after 9:00 a.m. at Davis Funeral Home, Tarkio.
Memorials: Westboro United Methodist Church or St. John’s Lutheran Church, Westboro, or Atchison County Health Center, Tarkio.
Online obituaries and condolences: www.minterfuneralchapels.com.
Services: Davis Funeral Home, Tarkio.