Former Good Hope Mayor Gordon Dunagan

 Take a look around Good Hope.

The municipal ball park, residential subdivisions and sidewalks you see are among the lasting legacy former mayor Gordon Dunagan leaves behind. 

Friends, family and colleagues will gather together today at 2 p.m. for his funeral at Moss Service Funeral Home in Cullman. A graveside service and burial will follow in Good Hope Cemetery.

Dunagan passed away Saturday at the age of 70.

Appointed mayor of Good Hope in 1997, he served the county’s third largest municipality until November 2008. The 11-year period Dunagan presided over was a time of growth for town which officially became a city in 2010 when it surpassed 2,000 residents.

Prior to being mayor, Dunagan was a town councilman for a number of years. He was Cullman County’s safety director and worked for the county for 23 years.

Current Good Hope Mayor Jerry Bartlett said Dunagan was instrumental in a number of developments in the city as mayor, from the growth of the Mayfair, Montcrest and Deer Run residential subdivisions to the conception of the municipal ballpark.

“Mr. Dunagan was very civic-minded, and he loved his community,” Bartlett said. “He was mayor when the sewer plan underwent several upgrades, and he was the one who paved several roads to new subdivisions. Gordon was also big into sidewalks and got grants to fund a lot of new sidewalks around the city. He also got grants to build the three ballfields at the municipal ballpark.”

Rep. Corey Harbison, who succeeded Dunagan as mayor, said Dunagan was influential in building Good Hope into what it is today.

“Gordon was a humble man and always made sure things got done that needed to be done,” said Cullman County Commission Chairman Kenneth Walker. “He was a big part of the county getting refunded money on our insurance every year because he kept up with all the accident reports and inspections to make sure we’re in compliance with our insurance.”

Survivors include his wife, Martha Skeen Dunagan; daughter, Dana Dunagan; son, Richard (Jo) Dunagan; grandchildren, Patrick Dunagan, Kelsey (Eric) Cornelius; great-grandchildren, Landon Dunagan and Maison Cornelius; and other family.