More detail on this person: Dale Dunham of Half
Moon Bay died unexpectedly March 28, 2014.
Born in Marquette, Mich., he spent his childhood
in that forested, rural area on Lake Superior.
Following high school he joined the U.S. Air Force
because he wanted to fly. And indeed, he did:
While he flew a number of planes, he settled on
being a helicopter pilot.
After 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, he retired
as a lieutenant colonel at Kirtland Air Force Base
in Albuquerque, N.M. During his career he served
at Edwards Air Force Base in California, K.I.
Sawyer base in Marquette, Andrews Air Force Base
in Maryland, and in England, France, Ethiopia,
India, Vietnam, Okinawa and Washington, D.C. He
served as the commander at Naha Air Base in
Okinawa, flew rescue missions in Vietnam, and
commanded the vice president's helicopter in
Washington, D.C.
During a year on special assignment in Ethiopia,
he spent much of his time living in the bush where
he enjoyed hunting, as he had during his boyhood
on Michigan's Upper Peninsula. He was proud of his
trophies that grace record books and the walls of
several natural history museums.
He married Judith Elliott in 1970 and together
they raised her three children and had two sons.
They moved to California in 1988 and settled in
Half Moon Bay in 1990, where Dale took a job as
Director of Emergency Planning at the San
Francisco International Airport. He retired from
the airport in 2004 to spend several dedicated
years caring for his ailing wife.
After her passing, he became involved in the
Coastside and its issues. For several years he was
a "conscience" of the Half Moon Bay City Council,
speaking eloquently and with humor during the
public comment period at nearly every meeting.
In 2009 he married his second wife, Bonnie
McClung, who joined him in his Frenchmans Creek
home. There he followed one of his passions by
designing and building a koi pond. It was the
third one he had built in his life.
For the last five years, Dale and Bonnie Dunham
involved themselves with family, friends, travel
and making a loving home. "We were feeling young
in old age; we were like kids. We loved being
together," said Bonnie. "He had a deep
appreciation for nature and the outdoors. He
enjoyed beauty, natural and artistic. We stopped
for sunsets."
Dale is survived by his wife, Bonnie, of Half Moon
Bay, sons Daley of San Francisco and Tom of
Castle Pines, Colo., stepdaughters Tami Turner of
Colorado Springs, Colo., and Terri Rose of Las
Vegas, Nev., his grandchildren, and his brother,
Tom Dunham, of Marquette.
A memorial event, "Remembering Dale," will be held
from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 26 at the
Portuguese Cultural Center at 724 Kelly Ave. in
Half Moon Bay.
This information was last updated 05/18/2016
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Date posted on this site: 05/13/2023
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