Longtime businessman and one of Mississippi’s most noted entrepreneurs, Robert H. “Bob” Dunlap, has passed. Dunlap was 96.
Dunlap was chairman and CEO of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. and a philanthropist whose generosity touched thousands of lives. He passed away peacefully at home on January 11.
Born in Batesville in 1929, Dunlap was a Navy veteran who devoted nearly a century of hard work to give back more than he received. He began his career working at Dunlap & Kyle Co., a small, family-owned business that sold cars, farm equipment, and tires. As chairman and CEO, Dunlap grew Dunlap & Kyle Co. (including Gateway Tires & Hesselbein Tires) into one of the largest independent wholesale and retail tire distributors in the South, with sales first topping $1 billion in 2021.
His philanthropy was legendary: scholarships for countless students, donations to schools, colleges and universities, churches, charities, and simple acts of kindness that literally changed lives. Behind the scenes, he paid tuition for waitresses and warehouse workers, forgave debts for those struggling with illnesses, and gave second chances to men and women coming out of prison by offering them jobs—and careers—at Dunlap & Kyle.
Over the last thirty years, Dunlap also supported the Palmer Home for Children, as well as countless civic and religious organizations. Whether helping a church build a new sanctuary, supporting local athletics, or underwriting community development projects, his quiet generosity shaped Batesville and beyond.