Gordon R. Howard; Developer

Gordon Russell Howard, a Burbank real estate developer and civic booster who funded the city’s history trove known as the Gordon R. Howard Museum, has died. He was 82.

Howard died Tuesday in Burbank.

The developer loved the city where he made his comfortable living developing family homes and wanted to preserve its history and share Burbank’s past with its residents. He was a longtime supporter of the Burbank Historical Society and a dozen years ago donated a parcel of land to be sold to fund a museum.

That museum, named for its chief benefactor, opened in 1983 in a restored house originally built in 1887 by the city’s founder, dentist David Burbank. Among the museum’s treasures are products from major Burbank companies, including original sketches of Mickey Mouse from Disney Studios, a helicopter from Lockheed and a 1922 bus built by the now-defunct Moreland Bus & Truck Co.

Howard, an antique car buff, donated his collection of vintage vehicles to the museum, including a 1937 Rolls-Royce.

A staunch supporter of family housing, Howard opposed high-rise expansion by local film studios, often speaking out at meetings of the Burbank City Council.

Howard is survived by his wife, Mary; three daughters, Kathleen Phelan, Martha Howard-Bullen and Bonnie Adamick; a brother, John D. Howard, and eight grandchildren.

Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday in the Church of the Hills, Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.

The family has requested that any memorial donations be made to the National Parkinson Foundation, 15840 Ventura Blvd., Suite 215, Encino, CA 91436.