JACQUELINE “JACQUE” DUNAWAY,
age 75, died of complications due to Parkinson’s Disease and a rare form of leukemia on January 12, 2024.
She was born on June 22, 1948, in Little Rock, Ark., the third of three daughters of James Munroe Dunaway and Carolen Thibault Dunaway. She was preceded in death by her parents and close friend Terry Bates of Gloucester, R.I.; and is survived by her long-time partner, Michael Burdett, of Woodstock Valley, Conn.; dear friend and end-of-life caregiver, Ann Ryder (Burdett) of Winchester, N.H.; sisters Pam Dunaway (Jim Rasco) of Little Rock, Ark., and Judy Dunaway of Westhampton, Mass.; and three nieces: Laura Rasco Reeves (Darren Reeves) of Little Rock, Ark., Lisa Rasco (Ben Weil) of Leeds, Mass., and Elizabeth Dunaway (Jordi Herold) of Northampton, Mass.; and one nephew Edward Smith III of Greenfield, Mass., as well as five grand-nieces and two grand-nephews.
Jacque was always interested in and proud of her family heritage. Many of her ancestors arrived in Arkansas in the 1830s – one of whom made her a Seventh Generation Arkansan. In addition, her brother-in-law, Jim Rasco, discovered in 2023 that Jacque and her siblings were Mayflower descendants. Her inheritance from her father and Uncle Edwin Dunaway included farmland that was originally part of her great-grandfather’s (W.H. Eagle) land outside Lonoke that he began amassing after the Civil War. Jacque spent her growing up years in Little Rock, where she especially loved “going to the country” and riding horses her grandfather Carroll Thibault purchased for his granddaughters. Jacque and her sisters, cousins, and friends spent many happy hours riding their horses on land originally settled by Thibault and Keatts ancestors in the 1830s.
Jacque attended Little Rock Public Schools and graduated from Hall High in 1966. She excelled in academics, attending Vanderbilt University in Nashville and graduating in three years. Immediately after graduation, she married another Vanderbilt graduate and moved to Germany, where he was stationed with the U.S. Army for three years. When they returned to the States, they amicably divorced, and Jacque settled in the Northeast. Following in the footsteps of her beloved Aunt Myra Thibault Gannaway (a school psychologist who lived in Rockport, Mass.), Jacque pursued higher education in Educational Psychology, attending graduate school at the University of Connecticut and spending the majority of her adult life advocating for the empowerment of individuals with developmental disabilities. Whether through the analysis and improvement of educational and residential programs or working within the court system to support adjudicated youth, Jacque was a tireless advocate for accessibility and the rights of individuals with disabilities. During Jacque’s working years, she also traveled across the country as a consultant and writer of grants to numerous non-profit groups. It was a rewarding career as she helped many non-profits accomplish their goals. Jacque lived in several small rural communities in Massachusetts and Vermont before finally settling in Woodstock, Conn., where she met Michael Burdett. Until her health no longer allowed, she was actively involved in her local community, whether serving on boards or helping a neighbor by bringing food, good humor, or lending a hand when needed. Jacque and Michael lived in a lakeside home outside their small town with a view of woods and water – a calming and spirit reviving view Jacque cherished. She made several trips a year to Arkansas to visit and supervise her Lonoke farm.
In her downtime, Jacque enjoyed cooking, hiking, and always the company of at least one or two dogs. She was a master gardener, who created ornamental and kitchen gardens wherever she lived. She enjoyed preserving and sharing fruits and vegetables and re-establishing native plants (including at least five different mosses and many wildflowers) to the areas around her home. She was a voracious reader, enjoying a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction, and had bookshelves brimming with interesting things for visitors to read. Her family and friends remember her generosity and how, when visiting, she might install a wood stove (complete with a cord of wood) or bring a calico kitten or a precious family heirloom as a gift. She loved classic Peugeots, Newfoundland dogs (drool and all), old farmhouses full of good company and jam sessions that stretched into the night, and cross-country skiing under a full moon. She will be remembered for her fierce intelligence, sharp wit, down-to-earth nature, and practical skills (she was as competent under the hood of a car as she was with academic argumentation), and her sincere dedication to helping others in need.
Jacque’s ashes will be buried in the Dunaway-Eagle family lot in Roselawn Memorial Park next to her much loved uncle - Edwin Eagle Dunaway - and also scattered at some of the places in nature she loved, including the levee of a reservoir on her farm in Lonoke. A small family gathering at her gravesite will take place at a later date.
Memorials in honor of Jacque’s life can be made to the CALS Butler Center for Arkansas Studies (100 Rock Street, Little Rock, Ark. 72201) or to the Historic Arkansas Museum (200 East 3rd, Little Rock, Ark. 72201). Arrangements are under the direction of RuebelFuneralHome.com.