Jackie Harwell Dunlop Durden

Jacqueline Harwell Dunlop Durden, born in 1943, passed away March 9, 2025, at her home in Opelika, AL. She was predeceased by her parents, Jack MacDonald Dunlop and Elizabeth Harwell Dunlop, Auburn, AL. She is survived by two sons Matthew MacDonald Durden (Lauren Connor), Chapel Hill, NC, and Robert Welles Durden (Jane Hixson), Charlottesville, VA, and a daughter, Elizabeth Abigail Durden (Sam Reed), Sebastopol, CA. She leaves seven grandchildren: Charles Coors, Golden, CO; Lillian Durden, Eleanor Durden, and Jack Durden, Charlottesville, VA; Martha Durden, Chapel Hill, NC; Anna Reed and Sarah Reed, Sebastopol, CA. She leaves two brothers: Daniel MacDonald Dunlop II (Anastasia Crispin), and Francis William Dunlop (Gary McMillan), Auburn, AL. She leaves nephew Samuel Crispin Dunlop, Auburn, AL; she also leaves niece Nissa Frances Dunlop Kennedy (George Kennedy), Daphne, AL, and their children Evelyn Upchurch, Raleigh, NC; Colin Kennedy, Claire Upchurch, and Rey Caudill, Daphne, AL. A memorial service will be held on Monday, March 24, at 11:00 a.m. at the Auburn United Methodist Church Founder’s Chapel with Pastor Dr. Cory Smith officiating. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people consider a donation to Waverly Puphouse, 7077 Jackson Road, Waverly, AL, 36879.

Jacqueline, known as “Jackie,” was born in Opelika, AL. When she was two years old, the family moved to Venezuela. In 1952 they returned stateside and settled in Auburn. Her senior year at Auburn High School, Jackie was named “Most Artistic.” She attended Auburn University, where she pledged Kappa Delta (as her mother had); was crowned Lee County’s “Maid of Cotton,” 1962; and earned her way onto the Dean’s Honor Roll six times. Jackie graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Languages in 1965. While teaching German in Pensacola, FL, she met her husband, Hugh Michael Durden. They married at the Auburn United Methodist Church on February 18, 1967, and started a family. Jackie always said that she loved being a mother.

Travel thrilled Jackie. Notable trips with her family were throughout Europe; Japan; Africa; Peru; New Zealand and Australia. Toward the end of her life, she still enjoyed driving to Cashiers, NC, to stay in the family’s mountain home, a cabin she named “Mountain Ayr” after her ancestral town of Ayr, in Scotland. In addition to her love of travel, Jackie also loved to sew quilts for her family and friends, entirely by hand.

After living in North Carolina; New York City; Seaside, FL; and Chapel Hill, in 2021 Jackie moved back to Auburn to live close to her brothers and sister-in-law.

Although late-stage Alzheimer’s eroded Jackie’s abilities, she was stitching squares of fabric together near the end, thanks to the dedication of her sister-in-law, Stasia; her daughter-in-law Jane; and her excellent caregivers. She also maintained her passion for nature’s beauty. From her last window she enjoyed watching the birds that landed on her feeder, the clouds sailing by, and the sunset.