SEARCY — Mary Lou Taylor Dunn,

72, of Searcy, Ark., passed into life eternal Feb. 27, 2021, after a lengthy illness. Mary Lou was born March 3, 1948, the youngest of three daughters born to Judge Elmo and Nancy Lee Taylor.

She was raised in a household of keen minds, voracious readers, and strong, unabashed opinions. This environment also bred in her a love for family, Searcy, Gulf Shores, Ala., good food, storytelling, and laughter, as well as the core belief that a lifelong nurturing of one’s faith and education is the key to a fulfilling life.

She attended Searcy public schools and graduated from Searcy High School in 1966. As a student at Searcy High School, Mary Lou participated in the band, where she was All-State; Future Teachers of America, where she served as president; Thespians, where she was an Honor Thespian; and The Lion yearbook staff.

While a senior in high school, Mary Lou went to volunteer at The Sunshine School, the school for developmentally disabled students in Searcy, at the urging, bordering on insistence, of her sister Mildred. Teaching special education and working with her students and their families became her lifelong calling.

She attended Arkansas State Teachers College in Conway, where she received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1971. She earned her master’s degree in special education from Harding College in 1977.

Mary Lou began her career in education teaching fourth, fifth, and sixth grade special education at McRae Elementary from 1971 to 1978, while also serving on the board of directors of The

Sunshine School. During this time she was also selected as Outstanding Young Educator and Professional Women’s Woman of the Year.

She left McRae Elementary in 1978 to become the executive director of The Sunshine

School. Under her guidance, The Sunshine School grew from a small school with a staff of 12 serving 32 students to the thriving school it is today, serving 75 students with a staff of 30.

By 1998, The Sunshine School was full and could accept no new students. Mary Lou and The Sunshine School board of directors envisioned a new $1.6 million facility that could better serve students and their families. The funds were raised, and construction began in October of 2010. The spacious new facility opened in July of 2011.

Mary Lou and The Sunshine School community sensed a need to serve developmentally disabled adults as well as children. The White County Group Home opened in 1986, with Mary Lou as the founding director. Today, White County Group Home provides residential services for 15 adults.

Mary Lou served on the board of directors of Special

Olympics Arkansas Area 6 for many years, and she relished helping coordinate and run the local and state events each spring. Mary Lou retired from The Sunshine School in 2018 after 40 years of service as executive director.

Sociologists tell us that each of us can expect to significantly impact the lives of only six to ten people during our lifetime. This did not apply to Mary Lou. She was a daily demonstration of service, love, and commitment, and she lived a life of true significance. The impact she had on the thousands of students she served and their families is immeasurable, and all of those lives are better today for having known Mary Lou.

In her personal life, the beaches of Gulf Shores, Ala., were Mary Lou’s happy place. She visited Gulf Shores at least once (and often twice) each summer from 1950 through 2020.

Just like her parents and her sisters, she was fiercely (but not blindly) loyal to the Arkansas Razorbacks and to the Democratic Party. She enjoyed a lively discussion. Mary Lou’s close friends and family members all knew that if you wanted to debate her on a topic, you would be well served to be knowledgeable on the said topic because the odds were good that she probably was.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Elmo and Nancy Lee Taylor; sisters Nancy Lee Sturm and Mildred Wilbourn; and brotherin-law Bill Sturm Sr.

Mary Lou is survived by her lifelong friend, Sally Paine, of Searcy; brother-in-law Jim Wilbourn of Searcy; nieces and nephews Karen Mode of Little Rock, Ark., Becca Long of Perry, Ga., Alan Wilbourn of Fayetteville, Ark., Dan Wilbourn of Searcy, Bill Sturm, Jr. of Kansas City, Mo., Merrick Wilbourn of Durham, N.C., and Leslie Sinyard of Perry, Ga.; by her 10 great-nieces and great-nephews; and by her great-great-niece and two great-great-nephews.

She is also survived by a legion of friends, former students and their families, and her church family at College Church of Christ in Searcy.

She is also survived by Molly and Milly, the latest in a long line of dogs she and Sally loved and nurtured. In one of her last text messages during the recent snowfall, Mary Lou reported “Molly loves the snow. Milly, not so much.”

Mary Lou had hoped in her lifetime to see the new Sunshine School building become debt-free. Memorials for the building fund may be made to The Sunshine School, P.O. Box 831, Searcy, Ark., 72145.

While she will be deeply missed, we are consoled by the sure and certain knowledge that a joyous and raucous reunion was held in Heaven last Saturday morning. St. Peter probably had to shush a few of our relatives.

Arrangements entrusted to Powell Funeral Home of Searcy, www.powellfuneralhome.net.