Donal Steuben Dunbar

Published 3:00 am Tuesday, June 26, 2018

Donal Steuben Dunbar, 89, a resident of Troy, died Sunday, June 24, 2018, at his home. Funeral services will be held on Thursday, June 28, at 11 a.m. at the First Baptist Church of Troy with Dr. Luke Lane officiating. The family will receive friends at the church from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. Burial will follow in Green Hills Memorial Park with Dillard Funeral Home of Troy directing.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Mabel and Ed Dunbar; three sisters, Alice Dunbar Mosley, Dolly Dunbar McGowin, and baby Mabel Dunbar; and three brothers, Tom Dunbar, Edward Dunbar, and Edwin Dunbar.

Mr. Dunbar is survived by his wife, Sara Lee Insley Dunbar; two daughters, Dorothy Wright Dunbar (Tom) Rogers, and Diana Lee Dunbar; son, Donal S. (Sheila) Dunbar Jr.; three grandchildren, Alina and Erin Dunbar and Cindy Darsey; and a great grandchild, Trey Darsey.

Active Pallbearers will be Ronnie Baker, David Johnson, Jimmy Renfroe, Keith Roling, Rhett McGowin and Duane Webb. Charles Meeks, Marvin Dillard, members of the Baracca Sunday School Class and members of the Troy Bank and Trust Board of Directors will serve as honorary pallbearers.

Mr. Dunbar was born on July 15, 1928, the youngest child to Mabel and Ed Dunbar of Troy, Ala. He attended the public school system in Troy through the ninth grade, leaving in 1944 to attend Marion Institute in Marion, Ala., for the last three years of high school, where he graduated in 1946. During high school and the first year of college, he worked on his commission. While at Marion, he was the first Lt. Col., Battalion Commander, Ranking Student Officer 1946-1947 and he spent two summer camps at Ft. Benning, Ga.

He attended Sewanee, University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn. from 1947 until the middle of 1948 and transferred to the University of Alabama and continued to work on commission as well as a college degree. He completed his A.B. Degree from the University of Alabama, but the degree tied to a commission and he did not receive his degree until 1952. That year, he married his wife of 66 years, Sara Lee Isley Dunbar.

He was an active member of the ATO Fraternity both at Sewanee and the University of Alabama and was a Gownsman at Sewanee.

He was drafted in 1950 and served in the Continental United States during military service. He was discharged from Ft. Rucker in 1953 with the rank of Captain.

His leadership skills were put to good use in his professional career. Between 1954 and 1967 he was involved in the management of: The Alpha Lumber Company in Montgomery, Troy Veneer and Crate Company in Troy and the Dunbar Mining Company in Troy, in which he served as its president and manager. This company was involved in the strip mining of brown iron ore in the central portion of Alabama

From 1967 until his retirement, he served as the president and manager of The Alabama Warehouse Company of Troy. The company was engaged in the buying, drying and shelling of peanuts for both domestic and foreign markets.

Donal was a faithful and active member of the First Baptist Church of Troy. He was a member of the Baracca Sunday School class and a duly elected deacon, serving as the chairman of the Board of Deacons at one time.

He was a member and past president of the Troy Rotary Club and received the Paul Harris Fellow Award from Rotary International. Donal was a past director of the Troy Chamber of Commerce and a Director of Troy Bank and Trust Company. He was also a member of the Executive Board and Director of The New Southland National Insurance Co., with home offices in Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Donal Dunbar was community-minded and generous with his time. He was a member and Secretary of the City of Troy Planning Committee, a member of the Citizens Advisory Committee of Troy, past Fund Drive Chairman of the United Appeal Board of Pike County, and secretary and director of the Pike County Museum Association. He was a past Commander of the American Legion Post 70 of Troy. He was a member and served on the finance committee of the South Central Alabama Girl Scout Council and was a member of the Executive Board of the Alabama-Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America.

He enjoyed fishing, golf, reading and horticulture and was known for the beautiful orchids and African violets he grew.

Donal was a loving husband and devoted father.