• ELISA GONZALEZ DUNAWAY
• November 14, 1939 to September 12, 2026

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Elisa Gonzalez Dunaway, 86, passed away peacefully on September 12, 2026, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Elisa was born on November 14, 1939, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to Elvira Alaniz Gonzalez and Lorenzo Gonzalez.

Elisa attended Oklahoma Baptist University and California Baptist College before graduating from California State University, Los Angeles, in 1966. She dedicated much of her life to serving others. She worked as a public health nurse in Riverside and Los Angeles, California; Richmond, Virginia; and Fort Worth, Texas. She also served alongside Nolen as a missionary, working with Spanish-speaking migrant workers, ministering to non-English-speaking congregations, and interpreting for the deaf in Virginia and Pennsylvania before eventually serving in Spain.

On February 6, 1965, Elisa married Loyd Nolen Dunaway. Together, they shared a life of deep, abiding love and resolute faith. Summing up the breadth of Elisa’s experiences, accomplishments, and memories from a long and meaningful life is no small challenge. Let us simply say that she lived her life well, loved Nolen deeply, and remained steadfast in her faith and devotion to her family.

After retiring in 2003, Elisa and Nolen moved to Oklahoma to be closer to their family, especially their grandchildren. Elisa embraced an active and loving role in her grandchildren’s lives, sharing with them her faith, her heritage, her stories, and her strong work ethic. The lessons she taught them and the love she gave them will remain with them for generations to come.

Elisa is survived by her beloved husband, Nolen Dunaway; her daughter, Kathleen Dunaway Kinkade; her sons-in-law, Judson Kinkade and Clyde Forrest; her grandsons, Paul Kinkade and Matthew Kinkade; her granddaughter, Elisa Gail Forrest Mudd; her grandson-in-law, Ryan Mudd; her great-grandchildren, Ella Mudd and Aiden Mudd; and nine beloved nieces and nephews and their families.

Beyond the family members named here, Elisa’s years as a missionary brought her an extended family of fellow missionaries and their children—far too many “MK nieces and nephews” to count. She was also blessed with a beautiful extended family of friends who, over the years, grew to become family. They, too, carry her memory in their hearts and will continue to cherish the special place she held in their lives.

Elisa was preceded in death by her father, Lorenzo Gonzalez; her mother, Elvira Alaniz; her stepfather, Benito Martinez; her beloved sisters, Elvira Gonzalez Sotelo and Austre Bertha Gonzalez Duran Krause; and her daughter, Stephanie Dunaway Forrest.

A memorial service celebrating Elisa’s life will be held at 11:00 a.m. on October 24, 2026, in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church, 1201 North Robinson, Oklahoma City, OK 73103.