Longtime businessman and one of Mississippi’s most noted entrepreneurs has passed, Robert H. “Bob” Dunlap. He was 96.
Dunlap was chairman and CEO of Dunlap & Kyle Co. Inc. in Batesville and a philanthropist whose generosity touched thousands of lives. He passed away peacefully at home January 11.
Born in Batesville, in 1929, Dunlap was a proud 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 dollars in 2021.
Over the last 30 years, Dunlap 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.