Dunaway’s Pharmacy has been a part of Henderson since 1937, when current owner Jed Dunaway’s grandfather, Elvin, Sr., opened a store on the corner of Second and Elm streets.
The pharmacy was passed down to Jed’s father, Elvin, Jr., and later to Jed himself, who remembers—after having graduated from the University of Kentucky School of Pharmacy in the spring—receiving his pharmacy license in the mail in July 1976.
Now, 50 years to the month later, Jed is retiring and Dunaway’s is closing. The pharmacy’s last day is July 8.
“It’s just time to retire, basically,” Dunaway said.
One of the driving reasons for his retirement is to be able to spend more time with his children and grandchildren. His children are Erin, a dentist who lives in London, Ky.; David, a neuroradiologist who lives in Dallas; and Chris, a sommelier who lives in Aspen, Colo. Erin has two children.
“I’ve not been able to do that as much as I’ve wanted to,” he said.
Dunaway’s has been around longer than the vast majority of Henderson residents have been alive. The first store at the corner of Elm and Second streets operated there till sometime in the mid-1980s, Dunaway said.
In 1972, he said, a second store opened downstairs in the Imperial Building. That small shop stayed open till 1980, when the business moved to its current location in the building, Dunaway said.
Current Dunaway’s customers can continue with the Walgreen’s on the corner of Second and Green streets, Dunaway said. The company bought Dunaway’s prescription file and prescription inventory, he said.
He also said customers can continue to call the Dunaway’s number because it will call forward to the Walgreen’s. He said there’s really nothing else current customers would need to do to continue with Walgreen’s.
“It’s pretty seamless,” he said.
Dunaway credited Mike Farmer who was at the pharmacy probably as many years as he was. He said Farmer was integral to the pharmacy and brought a lot of business acumen to it.
He also credited the community.
“This is not a success without the good people we’ve had to support us,” he said.
And his staff.
“The crew we have now is unbelievable.”
He said staff were offered interviews recently with Walgreen’s.
Working in a pharmacy can be a microcosm of society, he said.
“I’ve seen a lot of miraculous things and a lot of sad things as well,” he said, adding he experienced the whole spectrum of emotions in his work.
Dunaway said the decision to retire came fairly recently but now he’s excited to move on.
“Throughout the years, I have not been able to see my children and grandchildren and missed out on a lot of family events that I don’t want to miss out on anymore,” he said.
He said he and wife Debbie recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a trip to Alaska.
“The bottom line is I want to smell the roses and get closer to God,” he said.
