Marion Rusk Dunn Family Photographs and Papers, 1890s-1930s

Marion Hope Rusk was born on May 20, 1914 in Missoula, Montana to James and Marion Case Rusk. Her father worked as a lumber foreman at Polley Lumber Company from 1910 to 1922 before starting the Missoula Hardware and Plumbing Company. She had two older brothers, James (Jim) and David Rusk. On July 17, 1936 Marion Rusk married Jack Dunn, son of John E. and Edith Dunn. Marion’s father-in-law, John E. Dunn, was a charter member of Missoula’s carpenter union and photographed many of Missoula’s historic buildings.

In addition to photos and correspondence from her parents and childhood, Marion Dunn also collected photos from her husband’s family and from her sister-in-law, Beatrice Henry Rusk. Beatrice was the daughter of Clement, an engineer for the Anaconda Copper Mining Company, and Mary Henry. She married Marion’s brother David Rusk in 1950.

Marion was an alumna of the University of Montana and worked as a secretary. She remained married to Jack Dunn until his death in 1962. Their son, David Dunn, served and died in Vietnam in 1969. Marion Rusk Dunn died on October 26, 2003.