Dennis "Dee" Grant Dunbar

Dennis "Dee" Dunbar died early Monday morning, July 15, 2024, at Prairie Lakes Hospital in Watertown with his loving family by his side.

A visitation will be held Friday, July 19, 2024, from 5-7 pm at Furness Funeral Home in Clark.  A memorial service will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2024, at 1 pm at St. Paul Lutheran Church of Clark with Pastor Laurel Halvorson-Bernard and Pastor Jody Peterson officiating. A lunch will follow and then burial with full military honors at Collins Cemetery of rural Willow Lake.

Dennis Grant Dunbar was born on August 27, 1942, in Crookston, Minnesota, to parents Helen Ruth (Hall) and Charles Dunbar. He attended school in Twin Valley, Minnesota graduating in 1962.  While growing up, he enjoyed breaking horses and even rode bulls for a time.  In school, he was active in football, basketball, baseball and track and field.

On August 30, 1963, he joined the US Navy in San Diego, CA.  He was stationed on the Teconderoga and served in the Vietnam War. He then was stationed in Seattle, WA, NAS Imperial Beach, CA, and NAF China Lake, CA. From September of 1967 to July of 1971, he was in and out of the hospital recovering from a very serious car accident. He then served with the Assault Craft Unit One which went back to Vietnam. Upon returning, he served on the USS Chicago and back to the Assault Craft Unit.  Dennis, who became known as "Dee", was a member of the Navy Seal Team and was a Navy Craft Master, a very distinguished honor only given to a select few.  He received numerous medals and commendations including a Vietnam ribbon with nine stars until retiring in 1983 at Coronado, San Diego, CA, after twenty years of service to the US Navy.

On March 20, 1978, he married Eileen Claire Seefeldt in Las Vegas, Nevada.  They had met earlier and he had taken a liking to her because she wore cowboy boots. They had a son, Jimmy, who was born in 1983, in San Diego, CA. Once he retired from the military, they moved to Clark, SD, where he and Eileen ran a lawn mowing service. Dee was a lifetime member and former commander of the Clark VFW, a member of the Cagley-Smith Post #60 of Clark, and a longtime member of the Clark County Pro Pheasants.  He coached baseball from T-ball to VFW Teeners which he also was the VFW member in charge of the program for many years. He enjoyed hunting, especially pheasants, fishing and watching old western movies with John Wayne in. Dee was a master at making a variety of sandwiches including his favorite, the popcorn sandwich!  He was a very strong, determined man.  Above all, he cherished time spent with his family, especially his grandkids, McKinley, and his big buddies, Brixton and Jayven.

He was preceded in death by his parents and his siblings, Eileen Halvorson, Ethel (Frank) Lundon, Beverly Thorson and Ernest Dunbar.

Grateful for sharing his life are his wife of 45 years, Eileen Dunbar, son, Jimmy (Jill) Dunbar, all of Clark, son, Tracy (Kim) Dunbar of Watertown, grandchildren, McKinley, Jayven, Brixton, Mary, Rose, and Stacey, brother, Gary Dunbar, sister, Lois (Bill) Lundon, brother-in-law, Leo Halvorson, and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please direct memorials to the family to be donated in his memory to the fund for a new baseball complex.

Furness Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements and have an online registry at www.furnessfuneralhome.com .