Howard Dunbar

On March 27, 2020, Howard Dunbar left this world to depart on his next great adventure. An independent thinker from youth onward, he constantly bet on himself. He enjoyed a great marriage, family and friends and was the owner of a successful auto parts business (Dunbars Junkyard) and antique gallery and auction house (Dunbars Junkyard Gallery). Howard was born in Flushing, NY in 1931, to Reverend Howard R. Dunbar and Alice Goode Dunbar. In 1949 his family moved to Newton MA where his father became the minister for Newton Trinity Episcopal Church. After graduating from Newton High School, he attended Boston University for a year, and then Newton Jr. College, graduating in 1953. In 1954 he met his wife Martha who was also living in Newton. He proposed when she was 18 and he was 23 and their friends gave them 'no more than six months'. They toasted that remark annually for 65 years. From 1955-1957 Howard served in the Navy, stationed in Norfolk, VA, dealing in cars on the side. When they returned to MA, they bought 40 acres of land in Milford Massachusetts, (called 'the end of the earth' by his father-in-law.) They spent the next decade building their used auto parts business. In the late 1960s, inspired by the dune buggy craze, Howard began producing his own line in Framingham MA. When Boston Red Sox star Ken Harrelson ordered a custom flower power dune buggy (which included an interior bar and television) orders rolled in from all over the US. After the dune buggy fad passed, in the early 1970s Howard reinvented his auto parts business by specializing in only General Motors parts. Expanding his interests once again, Howard also started collecting and dealing in antique toys, advertising signs and posters and folk art. In 1987, after 35 years in the automotive business Howard made a major life change and began dealing in antiques toys and collectibles fulltime. Notably, he transformed the former junkyard offices into a gallery and auction business with clients from the US, Japan, Germany and England. After a successful career as an antiques dealer and auctioneer, in 1999 Howard sold the junkyard property and retired, selling off his collections and wares. He and daughter Leila (a longtime Antiques Roadshow appraiser) then converted Dunbars Junkyard Gallery into a consulting business, helping clients to sell their estates and collections. Howard leaves his wife Martha; daughter Leila Dunbar, an appraiser of Washington, DC and Milford, MA; daughter Dana Dunbar, a personal chef and writer, of Cape Cod; brother Donald Dunbar Of Vero Beach, FL; and sister Sarah Waters of Westport, MA; as well as a legion of nieces and nephews and in-laws who all appreciated and loved Howard for his quick wit, warmth, kindness and independent personality. A celebration of Howards life will take place at a future date.