Loretta J. Dunbar Papers
Loretta Dunbar was a 32-year old housewife and resident of Dallas, Texas in November 1963. She watched President John F. Kennedy’s arrival on television as well as his subsequent assassination. Dunbar documented her experience concerning the assassination of President Kennedy in her journal.
In the 1950's, both Dunbar and her husband, Dr. Robert B. Brunken, worked at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Dunbar worked as the secretary to the Director of Nursing as well as secretary to the Professor of Surgery. Dunbar and her husband were friends with Dr. Pepper Jenkins, the anesthesiologist who pronounced President John F. Kennedy dead. The essay from Dunbar's journal expresses the significant grief she experienced at Kennedy's death and how she and the people around her responded to such a devastating tragedy.
The Collection
The Loretta J. Dunbar papers consist of one personal essay describing the diary entry of Loretta J. Dunbar on November 23, 1963, the day after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Her 4-page essay, entitled "The Unthinkable," describes her personal thoughts and feelings after watching the assassination.
Box 1. Folder 1. Essay on Personal Memory of the Assassination of JFK, 1963
The collection consists of 1 folder.