William R "Bill" Dube

William "Bill" Dube was born in 1936 to second-generation Americans of French Canadian descent in his parent's home and between two puffs of the doctor's cigar, as he would say. He grew up one of five boys in a cellar hole that would eventually become a finished home in Nashua NH. They were financially poor but had a rich family life led by his mother, Helen, who was the matriarch of their family.
He started high school locally but then went off to Canada and upon return was able to graduate early. His college years were interrupted by his activation by the NH Air National Guard to support the Vietnam war. He remained in the Guard for 13 years. He found his way into the Automobile business in 1969. After a brief stint elsewhere, he began working for Dick Bournival Sr. in Lowell Massachusetts. In 1972 Mr. Bournival gave him an opportunity to run his Portsmouth Chrysler AMC store. Unprepared but completely committed to learning what he didn't know, he immediately made that store successful.
In 1975, Bill leveraged every penny that he and his family had and he was able to acquire the Toyota store in Dover NH. He loved to tell a story about the early days of his business when he could not afford a cleaning crew so instead, he and Sheila would come in and clean on Sundays when the store was closed. Inevitably, someone would be wandering the lot and he would end up selling a car or two. His timing was amazing as the Toyota brand was at the beginning of a meteoric rise. By 1981 he had acquired his second franchise: a Ford store on the other side of Dover. The stores were moved to the same (and current) site on Dover Point Road and he enjoyed great success there.
His daughter Debbie Dube Reed joined him in the late 80s and together they were able to do great things for many of the team members, the community, and his family. In 2004, Bill partnered with his son, Scott Dube, to buy a Hyundai franchise in Wilmington MA on the same property as the very first dealership Bill ever worked in. It was also there that a third generation of his family entered the auto business.
He enjoyed many accolades during his life as an auto dealer. He is a past President of the New Hampshire Auto Dealers Association, The NH TIME Magazine "TIME Quality Dealer" recipient in 1988, a member of the board of Directors for NH Vocational Technical College, President of the Greater Dover Chamber of Commerce, President of The Cochecho Country Club, President of the Strafford County Heart Council, Member of Toyota National Dealer Council and Regional Council, President of the New England Toyota Dealers Advertising Association, and many time winner of Toyota's prestigious President's Award. He was also a member of the United Way and Rotary. He was a supporter of the Dover Children's Home, Boy Scouts, New Hampshire Public Television, Theater by the Sea, Wentworth Douglass Hospital, Dover Recreation Department, Muscular Dystrophy Society, NH Drug Task Force, Dover High School, and Portsmouth Vocational programs.
He was an avid golfer. He was also an early adopter of technology in his business being very early in using computerized forms in his dealership. He was very well-traveled, Sheila and he traveled to 5 of the 7 continents and nearly all 50 states.
Of all of these honors the one, he appreciated the most was being Grampa Bill to five wonderful grandchildren and one great-grandchild. These young people were the light of his life and he loved spending time with all of them.
He is survived by his wife of sixty years, Sheila, and his two children, Debbie and Scott; as well as their spouses, Charlie and Mary; as previously mentioned five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He is also survived by his brother, Normand Dube of Connecticut.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Bill's honor to the Seacoast Cancer Center at Wentworth Douglass Hospital via giving.wdhospital.org
Celebration of life to be held at Cochecho Country Club on February 26th, 2023 from 1 to 4 pm.