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Thomas Dunstan Obituary
Thomas Edward Dunstan, Architect, has recently passed at the age of 93. Born in Seattle in 1919, the son of Congregational (now United Church of Christ) minister John Dunstan, he was one of four brothers. Early on he married Dorothy Kincaid, daughter of University of Washington Professor Trevor Kincaid, and fathered three children. He always loved to draw, and as an architect, he was inspired by great architects like Frank Lloyd Wright. He is remembered among the leading architects of his day in the Seattle area. He was known for his residential designs, such as the Thunderbird House in Bellevue, famous for its sweeping wing roof lines. His unique style blended Northwest and Japanese influences. He designed a thousand houses during his career. Later, Tom branched out into commercial ventures, not only as project architect, but as developer, with a long list of shopping centers, banks, and business parks that stand today, over many Western states. He developed many buildings for the State of Washington and designed a major office tower for the City of Chicago, as well as helping to purchase Seattle Steel, creating a new business plan, and redeveloping adjacent property into a higher and best use real estate. Tom later married his second wife, Margie, and raised her son, Gary Worrell. After Margie's passing, he married Carole and raised her daughter, Vicki Joslin.
Tom loved to travel and have adventures, especially power yachting and skiing. Passionate about living in his own designs, in the manner of his mentors, he built his own homes and always lived in his own designs until his seventies. He continued to practice architecture late into his seventies. He passed quietly and peacefully February 15, 2013. He is survived by his brother Paul Dunstan in Kentucky, his first wife, Dorothy Stapp in Seattle; three children, Thomas Dunstan, Jr. in Seattle, Elizabeth Kincaid in Kirkland, and Kenneth Dunstan in Sedona, Arizona, and by his two step children Gary Worrell and Vicky Joslin. Cremation is by Barton Funeral Services.
View Thomas' Online Guestbook at www.Legacy.com
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Memories and Condolences
for Thomas Dunstan
2 Entries
Janis (Asbury) Orrico
March 3, 2013
Mr. Dunstan designed my family's house in Bremerton in the 1960;s. It was beautiful and one of three Dunstan houses I knew of in the Bremerton area. Ours was on Marine Drive and my parents lived out all their years there loving it to the end. Mr. Dunstan was a gifted artist and I will always treasure the copy I have of the Christmas card he made for us that first Christmas. So beautiul. Sounds like he had a very full life. We were blessed to have known him.
March 3, 2013
Not only was Tom a gifted architect, he was a talented dealmaker. His artistry sometimes overtook business sensibilities, and he looked to partners to contribute business advice. One such partner was Gary Powlesland, who kept Tom in the game of commercial real estate development. Gary was like a son to Tom and they were a great team. Tom's visions attracted investors and his commercial projects were financed by life insurance companies and sold to investors. Tom was so anxious to get on with his next project he sometimes forgot to price his services properly and seldom was paid for his considerable talents and efforts. His strong will overcame the well-intended cautions of his advisors. Tom's imagination and energy was always an inspiration to me, even when his deals had to be revised to fit the real world; Tom had the courage of a lion and sought to find feasibility at the upper end of liklihood. I was his mortgage banker and good friend for more than half a century. Tom was unique. Skip Gilbert
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