Carol Jean Ellison Dunning

Carol Jean Ellison Dunning passed on from us unexpectedly but peacefully on Monday, March 7, 2022, in Mount Airy, at the age of 80.  She was surrounded and comforted by family on that beautiful spring afternoon as she looked to the sky and spirited away.

Carol Jean was born August 21, 1941, in Cleveland, MS, as the only child of Chester Eugene and Clara Erline Wilson Ellison.  Mount Airy became her home in 1985, when she moved from Jackson, TN, with her husband, the late William Edward Dunning from McKenzie, TN, and her three children, James Michael Dunning, Jeffrey Lawrence Dunning, and Amy Carol Dunning Snow.  She is survived by her children, her beloved son-in-law, Brant Wayne Snow, and her two cherished grandsons, Lane Christian Snow and Braden Dunning Snow.

After growing up in Memphis, TN, and a career in the medical field, Carol Jean went on to get her Masters in Education at Gardner-Webb University and taught in elementary schools in Surry County, NC, and Patrick County, VA, before retiring.  She continued to volunteer dutifully and extensively with the schools, First Baptist Church of Mount Airy, Wake Forest Baptist Hospital, the North Carolina Baptist Men’s Disaster Relief, and many other organizations until her passing.

We will remember her long walks with friends most every week on the Ararat River Greenway, her voice in the choir every Sunday, and her travels to some world destination every year.  She had a tremendous love of the outdoors and especially the return of spring flowers each season.  If there was a craft market or gift shop nearby, she would be there finding something special for someone.

Carol Jean was the rock in the foundations of so many people’s lives.  She cared for her family and friends every day and stayed in touch with everyone in her life – never letting them feel alone or forgotten.  She gave of herself beyond any possible measure and our loss is profound.

In lieu of flowers, food, and other kind gestures, the family kindly requests that donations be made in Carol Jean’s honor to Friends Feeding Friends or any one of the ministries that she was so dedicated to at First Baptist Church of Mount Airy:  https://fbcmountairy.org.

The family welcomes you to celebrate Carol Jean’s life and legacy with them on Sunday, March 20, 2022, at 4:00 PM in the main sanctuary of First Baptist Church, 714 North Main Street, Mount Airy, NC  27030.  For those that cannot attend the service, it will be livestreamed online by the church on their website:  https://fbcmountairy.org.