David Hoxsie Dunbar

David Hoxsie Dunbar, age 76 of Alpharetta, Georgia passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family and love on July 19, 2026. He was born in Providence, Rhode Island on September 11, 1949, and his parents, Albert McCord and Marion Shirley (Hoxsie) Dunbar, had three children. David primarily grew up in Rhode Island and then moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL when he was age 10 with his parents, sisters, and grandparents. He attended Northeast Broward High School and graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor’s in history and where he was member of Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He was a senior executive fellow of the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With that preparation, David was the quintessential public servant, initially as legislative liaison and Assistant Secretary for Health Care Planning in the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, then the largest state agency in the country. He was then appointed as District Administrator for Broward County, the state’s second most populous county, where he was responsible for managing all state health and social services including public health, family services, juvenile justice, mental health and developmental disabilities programs in Broward. In Georgia, he was lead administrator in the Department of Community Health where he was responsible for nursing home licensing. He lent his abilities as a leader, public health advocate, and quality compliance officer creating and implementing regulations to ensure the appropriate delivery of health care and aging services in both states. Until he retired in 2016, he retained that passion for quality care after joining the private sector that delivered such services.

David met the love of his life, Sandra (Sandi) Byars, in 1969 at Florida State University, and they married in 1973, enjoying life in Tallahassee, South Florida, and traveling. In those early years, he also enjoyed hiking, camping, golfing, and kayaking adventures with friends, and was especially proud of reaching the Continental Divide on one trip. He became totally enamored with another love when his daughter, Lindsay Irene, arrived. Moving from Fort Lauderdale to Alpharetta for career and family life in 1988, they found a growing community, a welcoming church (Mt Pisgah), and families that nurtured a full life of friends, soccer, swim team activities, service, and fellowship. David was always proud of Sandi’s and Lindsay’s accomplishments, and treasured that his grandson, David, was named after him. He especially loved family time, holiday gatherings, grilling on the back deck, chocolate milkshakes, golf, and his avocation, photography. Leading mission trips to Costa Rica was a joy, and although he frequently sought alone time, David really appreciated the fellowship of his men’s bible study groups.

David had intense loyalty to things and people he loved. For example, he remained a die-hard fan even when his teams, the FSU Seminoles and Atlanta Braves, had rough seasons. He was an avid reader and also loved the beach, surf fishing, introducing Sandi to kayaking and camping, traveling internationally and to National Parks. He had a good sense of humor, and he loved to create mischief and catch people off guard.

David is survived by his loving wife Sandi of almost 53 years, their daughter Lindsay (Rucker) and son in law Cameron Rucker, and grandson, David Dunbar; and brother-in-law Carl Byars and wife Janice. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Dale Ann Welsher and Becky Beaty.

David’s family is incredibly grateful to Baptist Nassau Hospital and the Community Hospice in Fernandina FL for the excellent and supportive care he received at his end of life. David’s legacy is without question his faith in Christ, and his unwavering love for Sandi and his family. He will be forever loved, missed beyond measure, and honored in all the ways that his family will try to continue his legacy.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 15, at 2:00 pm at Mt. Pisgah Church, 2850 Old Alabama Road, Johns Creek, GA. 30022.

To honor David Dunbar, gifts could be made to your favorite charity, or to Mount Pisgah Church (mountpisgah.org) or to the American Heart Association Council for Cardiovascular Nurses (heart.org) or Georgia Alzheimer’s Association. (https://www.alz.org/georgia/about).