Monticello Live

If you don’t have it in your heart, it doesn’t matter what you’ve got in your head. Never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved.
Barbara Johnson

This quote is an expression of how one Monticello couple has been ‘together for life’. Committed to education and committed to each other have gone hand in hand for Louis and Bobbie Dunlap. Here is their story:

Louis and Bobbie met at Shorter Junior college in NLR in 1956. Bobbie Binns Dunlap grew up in Monticello. And Louis was raised in West Helena. They both transfered to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff after they completed junior college. It was UAPB they started dating. They loved spending time together and knew that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but they did not let their love for each other keep them from completing their education.

Bobbie graduated with an Elementary Education degree in 1960, and Louis finished his math degree in 1962. The couple committed their lives to each other at a house wedding with friends and family on December 23, 1961. After a couple of short teaching jobs around south Arkansas, Louis and Bobbie decided to make Monticello their home. They both landed their first Monticello teaching jobs at the segregated Drew Schools east of town. Bobbie taught for 9 years at the Drew Schools. She spent the majority of her 31 years as a teacher teaching first grade at WC Whaley. Her love of teaching paid off for her in 1990 when she was named Monticello’s Teacher of the Year. After she retired from teaching she worked for the school district in the Parenting Program.

Louis loved to teach and be taught. He taught math at Drew Schools for 11 years. After integration he taught math at MHS. In 1969 he completed his Masters degree at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. But because of his love for math and teaching he took many advanced study classes. UT Austin, Texas Southern University, U of A, Southeastern University of Oklahoma. He felt that it was important to stay updated in the different ideas and trends in math. He often shared his findings with colleagues. It was after a lecture in 1973 Louis gave at a teachers conference that E.V. Gray, chairman of UAM math department, approached him and asked him to consider becoming a math professor at UAM. That fall Louis became the first African-American professor at UAM. He enjoyed the smaller classes and close-knit atmosphere at UAM. He taught there for 23 years and retired in 1996.

Today the Dunlaps have been married for 45 years. They enjoy being together every day. Louis keeps himself busy with work around the house and loves to garden. Bobbie is a member of the Effie Brooks Civic Club and stays busy with community service projects. They attend Holmes Chapel Presbyterian Church. The couple enjoys exercising together throughout the week at South Arkansas Rehabilitation’s Healthy STEPS program for senior citizens. They have one daughter, Sharon, and two grandchildren who they enjoy spending time with now that they are retired.

The secret to their love story is in how they treat each other. The fact that they are both teachers has only helped in their marriage. They learned early on the importance of communicating and respecting each other. They make a point to treat each other today the same way they did when they were dating. A day does not go by without affection and words of affirmation which has kept them together for life – Louis and Bobbie Dunlap.

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 18th, 2007 at 8:25 am and is filed under Feature: OML, Site. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.