The Indian Trail Improvement District hosted a memorial service for late Supervisor Gary Dunkley on Saturday, July 21 at the Hamlin House Community Center and the nearby Community Garden, a project that Dunkley championed.
Dunkley passed away on April 28 at age 62.
ITID President Betty Argue welcomed a room full of Dunkley’s family, community members and elected officials from state and local municipalities. She thanked ITID staff for organizing the memorial.
Officials attending included State Rep. Rick Roth (R-District 85), Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto and Vice Mayor Jeff Hmara, and Wellington Mayor Anne Gerwig,
“Gary would be honored by this memorial,” Argue said. “The garden was a vision he advocated for and helped come to fruition. His hope was that residents would use this garden to come and learn, teach people to grow their own vegetables to share with others, and encourage other residents to take all they have learned to their own backyards and have their own gardens.”
She said the garden is fitting, since The Acreage is a designated agricultural and equestrian community. “The board of supervisors has supported this vision,” she said. “My hope is to continue to work to bring Gary’s vision fully to life for generations to come.”
Supervisor Carol Jacobs said Dunkley was a good friend, ever since they met years ago at an Acreage Landowners’ Association meeting. “We both had the same vision of what this area should become,” she said. “I miss him every day of the week.”
Supervisor Ralph Bair said he enjoyed working with Dunkley.
“I did enjoy Gary’s work on the board and knowing him before that,” Bair said, adding that they didn’t always see eye to eye. “He gave his own opinion. We basically got along, and I enjoyed talking to him.”
Supervisor Jennifer Hager said she got to know Dunkley when he first ran for office in 2012.
“He was a straight up tell you just how it was [person],” Hager said. “I love him for that. We shared a passion for the equestrian lifestyle, and we loved to talk about horses. He carried that camera around with him, and he took all my pictures for me… Everything I remember about him is positive. I miss him, and I hope we’re carrying on what he wanted us to do.”
Dunkley’s cousin Eric O’Connor said Dunkley loved the area and got to know his neighbors.
“He loved his neighbors and wanted to guide them to be happy and enjoy the fruits of their labors,” O’Connor said. “He will be missed very much.”
Community Garden Coordinator Howie Zusel said he had known Dunkley for many years, but really got to know him when he helped during garden clearing for Hurricane Matthew.
“We had an ad up on Facebook that we would pay $10 an hour to come and help us move all this stuff and get it put away. Gary was the first one who responded, and he refused to take a dime from me,” Zusel said. “That’s just how Gary was.”
Zusel, a master gardener, said Dunkley asked him to manage the Community Garden, which he did with the help of fellow master gardeners Jennifer Casia and Jessica Lindhorst.
“I’m retired, and I don’t need extracurricular activities — but I couldn’t say no to Gary, so I became the garden coordinator,” Zusel said. “I arranged to have garden lectures, and we’ve had the top people in Palm Beach County speak at the Community Garden, and now it’s going to bear Gary’s name. I hope the ITID board will continue it and make it bigger and better than ever.”
Royal Palm Beach Mayor Fred Pinto said Dunkley asked probing questions of him.
“Gary was a good person to know and very effective in his role on the board,” Pinto said. “I know many of you will miss him.”
He added that Dunkley participated in Caribbean-Americans for Community Involvement (CAFCI), a group with roots in Royal Palm Beach.
“It was so wonderful to have him as a member,” Pinto said. “He would come to the meetings and participate in some of the conversations. You could always count on him being very straightforward and very on point with his remarks.”
Argue added that when they were in Tallahassee for Palm Beach County Days, the ITID constituency had several meetings canceled. Dunkley, who was an avid photographer, took Argue — who was newly elected — and visited politicians for “photo ops.”
“Gary was very frustrated [that meetings were canceled],” Argue said. “We all were, but Gary said, ‘Let’s go.’ I said, ‘What are you going to do?’ He replied, ‘I’m going to knock on the doors, and I am going to introduce you as the new Indian Trail board member, and we’re going to get into places.’ And that’s exactly what happened.”
They were able to have several unscheduled meetings with elected officials, including Senate President Joe Negron (R-District 25). “They didn’t have time to see us, but he finagled it,” she said.
ITID Engineer Jay Foy said that whenever Dunkley talked to him, he felt in his heart that they were friends. “I think you can tell from the diversity of what you have heard how intelligent this man was,” Foy said.
In Dunkley’s memory, an avocado and Barbados cherry tree were planted in the Community Garden. The plaque was created by former ITID Supervisor Mike Erickson, owner of Canvas Designers.
