The homes were notable not just for their quick, panelized construction but for their inexpensive price, at $9,900, at a time when some competing homes were priced above $13,000.
A graduate of Oakwood High School, Huber represented the third generation of Huber family builders, his obituary says.
He was preceded by his grandfather Jacob Huber, a German immigrant who started the family business in 1899, and father Herbert C. Huber.
With his siblings, he began working for Herbert C. Construction Co. as a teenager. He designed and built his first house in Kettering when he was 14, and continued to build while in high school, his obit says.
On his father’s death in 1954, Don, then a senior at Northwestern University, entered the family business where he worked with brother Charles Huber. Some of their first projects were in the Kettering and West Carrollton areas. They also assembled land parcels near what became the Dayton Mall.
It was in 1956 that the family business launched the construction of the first plat of brick, single-family homes in what had been Wayne Twp. From the mid-1950s to 1992, Huber Homes built 10,707 single-family homes and 2,258 multi-family units in that community.
“Middle-class families found security, access, and promise in this new community,” his obituary said.
Don Huber went on to form Donald L. Huber Enterprises, and developed communities in Kettering, Centerville, Miamisburg, Beavercreek, Lima, Sidney, Cincinnati, Columbus and communities outside of Ohio, his obituary says.
Credit: FILE
Credit: FILE
He was also instrumental in assembling 1,250 acres of land for Miami Valley Research Park, a non-profit university-related park affiliated with local universities to bring industry and advanced technology companies to Kettering and Beavercreek, his obit noted.
In 2015, Huber told the Dayton Daily News that his next “visionary project” could be in the area of biology and neurology.
“I’d love to get something started that would bring the brightest and best in those fields here to Dayton,” he said at the time. “I think we have the potential of being the next Silicon Valley. This area is a great place to bring business and ideas.”
His obituary noted his philanthropy and community support. “During many development efforts, both he and his family’s company donated millions of dollars’ worth of land to schools, parks, churches and playgrounds.”
“He was a wonderful man with a truly remarkable life,” said Julia Huber Mayeux, chief executive of Huber Real Estate Group.
Huber and his wife Veronica moved from their longtime home in Oakwood to Willowcreek in Beavercreek, then one of Huber’s latest developments, he told this newspaper in 2015.
He is survived by wife, Roni; his daughters Shirley (John Berry Jr.) of Florida and Dayton, Julia Huber Mayeux (Greg Mayeux) of Cincinnati, and Kimberly Byrd of Minneapolis; sister Corinne Huber of Dayton; three granddaughters and five grandsons.
Services will be at Routsong Funeral Home, 2100 E. Stroop Rd., Kettering, 2 p.m. Friday. Visitation will be 1 to 2 p.m.
Burial will take place at David’s Cemetery at 3 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Wright State University Medical School’s research department. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be made at www.routsong.com.
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