PEARLY ANN DUNKEL TAFT

BORN AUGUST 2, 1886
DIED APRIL 25, 1978

Pearly Ann Dunkel was born to Alice and Frank Dunkel in Stryker, Ohio, where she spent her childhood.

At the age of eighteen, she began her teaching career which took her from Ohio to South Dakota and on to Washington State.

Visiting her friend, Inus Taft, in Iowa, she met Ray Fred Taft, her friend's brother. After a courtship in Iowa, they were married on May 27, 1913. To this marriage were born three children, Robert Ray on April 18, 1914, Richard Lee on November 2, 1919, and Marion Arlene on May 24, 1924. Pearl spent her life in Cedar Rapids, Iowa caring for her family and teaching in the Cedar Rapids school district.

It would appear that she began writing poetry during the 1940's after her children had left home. Her collection reflects many aspects of her life from that time on.

Pearl and Ray celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in 1963. Ray passed from her life in 1965.

In 1971, she moved to East Moline, Illinois to live with her daughter. There she continued to write until her own passing on April 25, 1978.