Stephen R. Dunbar

DUNBAR, Stephen Robert 80, a life-long resident of Springfield, Ohio passed away at home on Sunday, April 21, 2013, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Springfield on July 13, 1932 the son of E. Henry and Edith (Cromwell) Dunbar. After graduating from Springfield High School in 1950, Steve attended Bowling Green State University, and shortly after returning to Springfield, began his career as a professional photographer at the Charles F. Kettering Research Laboratory (now Battelle Laboratory). Steve also started his own photography studio and became known as the area's premiere wedding and portrait photographer. Over the years, he won many state and national awards for his work, and in 1980 was named Master Photographer by the Professional Photographers of America, the highest honour that can be earned in the field of professional photography. His work has been shown in exhibits all over the United States. During his career, Steve also taught at the Dayton Art Institute and the Ohio Institute of Photography and Technology (formerly the Ohio Institute of Photography) in Dayton. He was a member of the Professional Photographers of Ohio, past President of the Springfield Photographic Society, was active in the Springfield Jaycees where as Membership Chairman the club membership doubled, was a long-time YMCA Camp Evergreen board member, and served on the Board of Advisors for the Ohio Institute of Photography in Dayton. Although Steve retired from the Battelle Laboratory in 1985 and turned his photography studio over to his son Bruce in 1998, he was a still a force of nature who found joy in everyday moments. Steve was an avid bicyclist all his life, took up skiing at the age of 52, and was a rollerblade enthusiast who thought blading from Springfield to Xenia and back was just a little warm-up. He was passionate about riding motorcycles, and was an adventurer who loved the annual trips he took with his son Mark into the New Mexico wilderness to hunt. Steve was an enthusiastic cook, a matchless storyteller, and most of all, a loving and loyal friend. He used to say that the secret to a happy life was "Curiosity, and a mind and body capable of taking it wherever it wants to go." Then he would add, "If you embrace just that one thing - curiosity - you may grow old one day and discover, as history and philosophy teach us, that the voyage does not always lie in seeking new landscapes, but in seeing with new eyes." Steve truly lived life to its fullest.

He leaves to cherish his memory four sons: Mark (Kim) Dunbar, Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Rick (Anne "Nanna") Dunbar, David (Penny) Dunbar, and Bruce (Sherri Stewart) Dunbar, all of Springfield, Ohio; three grandsons: Aaron Dunbar, Las Cruces, and Tyler Worley and Eli Worley, Springfield; three granddaughters Dawn (Tim) Tharp, Las Cruces, and Kristin Dunbar and Jennifer Dunbar, Springfield; one sister: Janet (Dr. Harry) Burger, Fremont, Ohio; his favorite nephew Dr. Eric (Tammy) Burger, Jackson, Mississippi; two nieces: Alice (Michael) Guerra, and Nancy Williams, Cortland, Ohio; 10 greatgrandchildren: Austin, Jayden, Dustie, Arley, Alyssa, James, Jayla, Jandi, Cyrus, and Levi; former wife Marge Dunbar, Springfield; best friend and companion of 29 years Lisa Raser, Dayton, Ohio; and numerous cousins and many, many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents and one niece Edie Burger. Visitation will be Thursday from 2 - 4 pm & 6 - 8 pm in the RICHARDS, RAFF & DUNBAR MEMORIAL HOME. The funeral service to honor Steve's life will be held Friday at 1:00 pm in the Memorial Home with Pastor Orbie Estep officiating.His was a life well lived. Expressions of sympathy may be made at www.richardsraffanddunbar.com