Reva Bunch Dagley

Reva Bunch Dagley, 09/21/1931 to 10/22/2018

She was born a coal miner’s daughter September 21, 1931, in Petros, Tennessee, to Roy and Sallie Duncan Bunch.

Reva graduated from Wartburg High School, where in addition to earning her diploma, she was a cheerleader. She also earned a degree at National Business College in Knoxville, becoming the first in her family to earn a post-high-school diploma. While going to school, she supported herself and paid her own tuition by working as a shoe salesclerk.

After graduating from business college, she was hired as a secretary to attorney J. H. McCartt, partner to former judge George W. Dagley, Sr., in Wartburg, Tennessee.

In 1950 she married George W. Dagley, Jr., and together they had two children, Janet and Jeff, who survive. The couple were later divorced.

After a brief period as a full-time housewife, she went back to secretarial work at what was then the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC, now the U.S. Department of Energy). where she worked for more than 10 years in various departments. During that time she also worked on the weekends as the bookkeeper and business manager for her parents’ businesses, Bunch’s Market and Bunch Marine in Kingston.

In 1969, she moved with her children to Dayton, Ohio, when she transferred from the AEC to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where, in her roles as secretary and administrative assistant, she helped coordinate the development of the F-15 fighter jet.

After retiring from Wright-Patterson, she worked at Wright State University in student services, making arrangements for students with special needs to get whatever help they needed to navigate the campus while pursuing their education.

In her last position she was manager of the Spicer Heights rental residences and shopping center in Beavercreek, Ohio.

Reva was a strong, independent, and resourceful person who mostly on her own, raised two children and left a legacy of grandchildren (4) and great-grandchildren (5) whom she loved with all her heart. Far and away Reva’s proudest accomplishments are the people listed here (in order of appearance):

Daughter Janet (Michael) Dagley, son Jeffrey (Beate) Dagley, grandchildren Jesse (Kamil Stranik) Lynch, Sallie (Andrew Flatley) Lynch, Roy (Amanda Weaver) Dagley, Rick (Shannon) Dagley; great-grandchildren Jonah Dagley, Frank Dagley, Parker Dagley, Zoe Flatley, and Elijah Dagley.

She is also survived by her sister Audra Reedy and brother-in-law Vernon Reedy, sister-in-law Charlene Hall, as well as nieces and nephews Dillard West, Jr., Patsy Hall, Michelle Presley, Mike Reedy, Linda Kirkpatrick, Curtis Bunch, Eugenia Boyd, and Mark Bunch.

She was preceded in death by her parents Roy and Sallie, brother Eugene Bunch, sister Maxine Holland, brother-in-law Frank Holland, niece Linda Hargrave, and special friend Arnold Spicer.

A private celebration of her life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hospice of Miami County, Ohio, or the Greene County (Ohio) Council on Aging, both of which were very helpful to her and her family during this difficult time.