Teena Pat Dunn

Teena Pat (Farmer) Dunn was born to Vaughn Cile (Stack) Farmer and Billie Lee Farmer at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City on January 29, 1959. She was found at home on March 25, 2026, having taken her own life. After enduring breast cancer treatment in 2019, two hip replacements in 2024, severe arthritis, and severe back pain from scoliosis, we're grateful that she is no longer suffering. After witnessing her mother’s decline from dementia in her final years, Teena had also become increasingly fearful of the early signs in herself. It is clear that this was an intentional choice, not a spur-of-the-moment act. And in her own way, an act of love. We miss her so much.

Teena grew up in Midwest City, Oklahoma, where some of her best memories were from her years at Jarman Junior High, when she ran around with Alice, Glenda, Donna, and Rosie, sneaking into drive-in movies in the trunk of the car, meeting John Denver at the top of the Skirvin Hotel, playing basketball and tennis, and just generally being silly. Teena graduated from Midwest City High School in 1977 and was voted "Funniest" her senior year.

At age 16, Teena suffered the loss of her boyfriend David who died in a car crash. She remembered climbing on top of the roof of the high school to be alone, until her mother found out and climbed up there with her. 

Teena graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Central Oklahoma in 1980. In 1987, after eight years of marriage, Teena and her husband Jamie Dunn had a daughter, Brittney Von. Following her divorce in 1990, Teena returned to school and graduated with distinction from the Oklahoma City University School of Law in 1994. She was forever grateful to her parents for helping with childcare and funding her education.

She began her legal career at Lytle, Soule & Curlee, where she eventually specialized in aviation law. In 1999, she joined the Aviation Group at McAfee & Taft, one of the largest and most experienced FAA aircraft title and financing legal teams in the United States, where she practiced until her retirement in 2022.

Teena met some of her greatest lifelong friends through league tennis. Her 1997 Women's 5.0 team went to the Nationals Tournament in New York City. Though the team lost in the first round, her daughter was delighted by the toys brought home from FAO Schwarz. Later, she took up golf and pickleball, which she would have played six hours a day if her body allowed it.

Teena's greatest joy in life was her daughter. The two of them always joked about the "Brittney shrine"—the numerous Brittney pictures and memorabilia perpetually decorating the house. Teena and Brittney shared a sense of humor, a knack for racket sports, and a love of movies: everything from The Muppets Christmas Carol to Stanley Kubrick films. In support of Brittney’s love for animals, Teena welcomed all manner of pets into the house over the years: hamsters, beta fish, a gecko, a cat, an iguana (eaten by the cat), zebra finches, a ferret, and two dogs. The reigning champion and sole survivor of childhood pet care was Scruffy, a beloved and unusually clever Jack Russell Terrier mix.

When it came time for Brittney to go to college, the two of them visited several schools from coast to coast. Despite their closeness, Teena was adamant that her daughter go to college wherever she wanted, even if it meant being far away. Brittney landed at Wheaton College in Illinois, incidentally the closest school they visited. As a mom, Teena was unfailingly strong, supportive, generous, present, and loving.

In addition to her daughter Brittney Dunn, Teena's surviving family includes her brother John Farmer, nephews Cody and Rory Farmer, and cousins Penny Gooch, Kirk Osborn, Hansel Stack, Bob Stack, and Linda Sue Downey, among many other cousins on her father's side.

A few more of Teena's loves: snow skiing, gardening, drinks with friends, WWII documentaries, travel, following the stock market, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Coke Zero, her son-in-law David's art practice, and keeping up with world events through daily reading of Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal.

Some more of Teena's talents: moving furniture by herself despite everyone's insistence that she ask for help, painting (oil, acrylic, water color, and gouache), making a mouth watering Christmas roast, and losing gloves, water bottles, and passwords. In 2023, Teena stunned us all with a fully-fleshed, beautifully written self-published novel, At the Crest of the Hill. A work of fiction that connected so many aspects of her life and interests: humor, law, spirituality, and crime drama. We regret that we'll never get a sequel.

Friends have said that Teena is one of the wittiest people they've ever known. Even in the midst of pain and trauma, you could always count on a deep laugh with Teena. And what a gift it was.

A celebration of Teena's life will be held April 11 at The Greens Country Club, 13100 Green Valley Dr, Oklahoma City, from 3:00–6:00 p.m on the indoor pickleball courts. There will be drinks, snacks, pictures, and time for stories. Teena cared deeply about the equal treatment of women and their access to education and career development. In lieu of flowers, we would be pleased with donations to the American Association of University Women (AAUW).