Lawrence Dunbar (Lebanon)'s Obituary
Lawrence Harvey Dunbar, 82, of Richland, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, February 23, 2016, in his home.
Larry was born December 31, 1933, in Allen County, Kansas to Leonard Harvey and Margaret (Melvin) Dunbar.
On June 13, 1954, at the Westwood Baptist Church in Denver, Colorado, he was united in marriage to Roberta L. “Bobbie” Barlow.
He was preceded in death by his father, Leonard Dunbar, and his stepmother, Florence; his mother, Margaret (Melvin) Smith; and a son-in-law, Douglas Tucker.
Larry is survived by his wife of sixty-one years, Bobbie, of the home; a son, Lance Harvey Dunbar, and his wife, Tricia (Wiggins), of Elizabeth, Indiana; two daughters, Twila Ann Guthrie, and her husband, Christopher, of Santa Clara, California, and Dawn (Myriah) Lee Tucker, of Blind Bay British, Columbia, Canada; eight grandchildren, Derrick, William, Kyle, and Stephanie Dunbar, Erin and William Guthrie, and Jarred and Kevin Coles; ten great-grandchildren, Isis, Kendra, Dameon, Dakoda, and Austin Dunbar, Kylee, Madison, Jase, Preston, and Paxton Coles; as well as a host of other relatives and many friends.
Larry’s parents divorced when he was one year old, and as a result he lived in many places. For the first seven years, he lived on different farms with his maternal grandparents, Charlie and Ruby (Porter) Melvin, as they traveled between Kansas and Missouri several times.
When Larry was seven years old, the court granted his parents joint custody, however, the terms of the court order awarded each parent six month custody which meant Larry never finished a single school year at the same school. He traveled from state to state wherever his mom or dad were living at the time. In his young life, his travels took him back and forth to the States of Kansas, Colorado, Washington, and California. He made most of his trips alone by bus or train with a name note pinned to his chest. These experiences made him very independent as a child and later in life, an independent man.
From the age of thirteen through nineteen, Larry lived with his father and stepmother, living in several cities and towns in Colorado. He attended Byres Jr. High School, South High School and Denver University.
During his teen years, he worked at several jobs starting with a paper route, a Flower Delivery man, a Shag Boy for a car dealership, a Bottler at a dairy plant and as an Usher at a theater. It is at the theater where Larry met Bobbie
Larry entered the Marine Corps and proudly served his country from 1953 until 1956, during the Korean War. After leaving the service, Larry and Bobbie returned to Colorado where he went to work for IBM as a Computer Service Repairman. Over the years the company moved Larry and his family to many cities: San Jose, San Francisco, back to San Jose, to Santa Cruz, back to San Jose, California. Larry’s final move with IBM was to Durham, North Carolina, as a Computer Program Specialist where he retired after thirty years with the company.
Larry held dear the following belief: “If you can read you can do anything.” This attitude was used to fuel a life of learning, new discovery and interests.
This drive for new interests and hobbies afforded many new adventures over the years. These travels took him down many roads; which the rest of his family was fortunate enough to enjoy and come along for the ride; and in some cases, these adventures stayed with all of us.
Though there are too many activities to put in this print, the following are fondly remembered by his family.
Some of his sporting interests were: Archery, Hunting, Fishing, Hand Gliding, Scuba Diving, Wind Surfing, and Camping. Many of these camping adventures were vacations traveling from California to Colorado in a 1962 VW camper van that he made from scratch, long before Volkswagon ever built one. Larry and Bobbie purchased land in Mendocino County, California and built a small hunting cabin where the family spent many summer vacations.
Larry loved flying, so he earned his Private Pilot License. He was President of the Experimental Aircraft Association where he and his group built a plane. When he received his Teaching Certificate, he taught Aviation ground school to new flyers. He combined these skills with his Cub Scout leadership to create an outing where Scouts got to fly. In 1966, it was the first time for many.
Larry’s other interests included, Wood Working, from making furniture to building a house to hold the furniture, lost wax casting and fine Jewelry making, lapidary and setting stone in original designs he created. He enjoyed photography, and created a dark room to develop our family photographs.
In planning for retirement, Larry and Bobbie knew they wanted to return to the farm, so in 1979, they purchased land in the countryside between Richland and Lebanon, Missouri. In 1988, he and his wife returned to the farm and spent a couple of years building their home, a barn, and outbuildings. On their farm they raised long horned cattle and road their horses. Larry owned many animals and pets over the years but his favorites were his dog, “Mondo”, and his horse, “Tommy”. In retirement, he learned to create web sites and helped others by teaching at the adult education of Lebanon. He loved to dance and could jitterbug well into his seventies. He also was a member of the Twilight Twirlers square dance club.
His other hobbies also included: Family History and Genealogy, and Gardening. Larry loved to garden and loved to share his bounty with friends.
In his lifetime, he served on several committees including Republican Councilman for the Eastern District, the County Road Committee, and the Committee for the Building of the County Court House. He served as President of the Airman Association, the International Order of Foresters, the Laclede County Genealogy Society, and the Friends of the Library.
At Larry’s request, there is to be no funeral or memorial service; his body is to be cremated, and his burial will be at a later date. Arrangements are under the care and direction of Holman-Howe Funeral Home of Lebanon, Missouri.
In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations in memory of Larry Dunbar to Laclede County Genealogical Society be made through the funeral home or mailed to P. O. Box 350, Lebanon, MO 65536.
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