Thomas Gary Dunnam

Thomas Gary Dunnam was born on August 4th, 1943 in Winters, Texas to Annie Graham and John Thomas Dunnam. Around the age of ten, Gary moved with his parents and younger brother Barry to Big Spring, Texas where Gary attended high school, graduating in 1961. Continuing his education, Gary went on to attend North Texas University where he earned a degree in Music Education in 1965. Following four years of service with the Army Security Agency, in which Gary was stationed in Turkey, he taught school for two years outside of Dallas, Texas. In 1971 at the age of 28, Gary moved to Victoria, Texas, and would make this home for the remainder of his time.

After moving to Victoria, Gary began working with his good friend Rubin Frels who became a mentor and like a second father to him. Mr. Frels shared and encouraged Gary’s passion for music and movies. Gary learned the trade of pipe organ construction and worked part time at the Frels Lone Tree drive-in theater. It was here that Gary developed his penchant of bawdy jokes and love of the famous Frelsburger. It was at the drive-in theater that he also met his first wife, Cindy Bridges. They celebrated the birth of their daughter Katharine in early 1983 but later divorced.

In 1986, Gary met the love of his life – Sharon Dincans Steen, leading to their inevitable marriage in 1992.

While working as a successful pipe organ specialist and movie theater manager, Gary found his true calling in the fall of 1996 which perfectly combined his love of history and art. After prodding from his supportive wife Sharon, he decided to apply for the position of Executive Director of Victoria Preservation Inc, and despite his apprehensions surrounding his lack of formal education on the subject, was eventually selected out of forty-three applicants and secured the role.

To quote Gary, “You don’t restore buildings to get tourists to come see them. You get involved in historic preservation because a community must have an identity of its history”. Early on he was enamored with the stunning array of Victorian architecture present throughout the Texas Crossroads, and began getting involved in the VPI Home Tours, encouraging homeowners to pursue historical markers. He would cleverly entice them to put their homes on the tour by researching and writing elaborate house histories for them, as well as auction exclusive progressive dinners in homes of various members around town to raise funds for the organization.

In addition to his role within Victoria Preservation Inc, Gary also became the Victoria County heritage department director in 2001. The restoration of the 1892 Victoria County courthouse is one of his proudest accomplishments. Many hours of tireless work with a long list of friends that eventually became more like family, resulted in Victoria securing 83% of the vote to pass the bond to fund the restoration. This resulted in the Victoria County courthouse being recognized in the top 10 county courthouses amongst Texas’ 254 counties.

Gary also spearheaded the creation of the popular annual Victoria Cemetery tour, beginning with field trips for school children, completing much of the research and documentation himself. It was one of the many clever ways he devised to get people’s attention and got them fascinated with history. Such tours quickly garnered much interest, and thus, they were finally opened to the public in 2004 and continue to this day. Gary’s talent for scouring the archives and spinning a good yarn was put on full display, bringing history to life in many of his tours and informational talks around the community, where he would begin with his favorite John Steinbeck quote, “How will we know it is us without our past?”

Gary’s extensive hours of research also helped lead to the Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail officially being recognized within Victoria County in 2004. In 2008 Gary joined the board of directors of the Camino Real Historic Trail commission and later became secretary of the Camino Real board of directors.

Gary finally retired from Victoria Preservation Inc. and the Victoria County Heritage Department in November, 2012, but continued to serve as a member of the Victoria County Historical Commission including co-chairman of the historical marker committee as well as secretary on the El Camino board of directors. He and Sharon were great supporters of the Nave Museum, and curated numerous art exhibitions over the years. The couple also had a wonderful time spearheading community projects together, such as the production of the 2011 VPI Cookbook, “Culinary Crossroads of South Texas” which showcased the diverse cultural heritage of local families, including those of Czech, German, Greek, Italian, African American and Mexican descent.

Reflecting his creative flair, he was proud to co-author two books that highlighted the history of Victoria and the surrounding region. “Historic Homes of Victoria County” was published by Victoria Preservation Inc. and “All the Houses Were Painted White” was published by the Texas A&M University Press.

Gary’s retirement was filled with all the things he loved the most — family, friends, travel, wonderful food, classical music, stacks of books, art and of course, he and Sharon’s famous dinner parties !

Following a spirited battle with cancer, Gary passed peacefully in his home, on his own terms.

Gary is preceded in death by his parents, Annie Graham and John Thomas Dunnam, brother Barry Dunnam, and his wife Sharon Dincans Steen. He is survived by his daughter Katharine Elizabeth Dunnam Tretter (Kevin) of Round Rock, Texas, step-son Lias Jeff Steen (Barbara) of Houston, step-daughter Shannon Steen Mann (Jamie) of Houston, step-son David Jennings Steen (Yuniedth) of Austin, as well as six wonderful step-grandchildren that brought him so much joy and affectionately called him “Pappy”. Gary is also survived by a sister-in-law Marie Dunnam of Big Spring, nephew Sean Dunnam (Heather) of Lubbock, niece Annaliese Dunnam (Shawn) Gordon of San Marcos, niece Shanna Michaela Dunnam of Austin and niece Victoria Nicole Dunnam of Austin.

The family is very grateful for the compassionate support of his friends and his loving team of caregivers. In a private ceremony, Gary's ashes will be interred at Evergreen Cemetery next to Sharon. A celebration of Gary’s life will be planned for some time in the near future.

In lieu of flowers, please preserve some history and make a donation to something beautiful !

As Gary often said, “It’s like the final chapter of history… it will never be written…!”