Nat Dawes - RIP

Posted by ECAnthony On 2022/7/22 20:57:01

Author and historian Nathaniel (Nat) T. Dawes passed away on July 12, 2022, peacefully at his home in Poughkeepsie, New York, with his loving family at his side. He was 84 years old.

Nat was born in Newburgh, New York, and earned a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Kent State University. He worked at IBM before going into the US Army. On Thanksgiving Day, 1963, he married his true love, Helen Nedwell in Poughkeepsie.

Nat authored the book, “The Packard – 1942-1962,” which was the first complete postwar history of the Packard motor car and the company. He started researching his book after misinformation about Packard’s postwar years was published in Robert Turnquist’s book, The Packard Story. Nat contacted Automobile Quarterly to publish his book, but the publisher, L. Scott Bailey, declined. Bailey suggested instead that Nat might be better suited to write only one chapter in their planned new Packard history book. Nat declined, pointing out that there was too much subject matter to fit into one chapter. Bailey did not like Nat’s response, and hung up on him. After he obtained a publisher, Nat and Helen traveled to Detroit to conduct research and to interview Dick Teague, among others.

After his book was published, Nat founded Buckingham Auto Restorations, which he and Helen ran for many years. His prized possession was the first 1955 Packard Caribbean convertible produced, #5588-1001, which he and Helen purchased in Dayton, Ohio in 1975.

Survivors include his wife, Helen, his sister-in-law and her husband, his brother-in-law and his wife, several nieces, nephews, and cousins. Memorial contributions may be made to the Hospice Foundation, Inc., 374 Violet Avenue, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.