Colorado man travels to East Texas to be reunited with grandfather’s 1961 Ford Falcon

PALESTINE, Texas (KLTV) – Last month, Micheal Barry at Palestine Toyota got an unusual trade-in: a mint-condition 1961 Ford Falcon.

Barry decided to do some research on the origin of the vehicle. It contained maintenance records from the original owner, and a sticker from the dealer it who sold it in Creston, Iowa.

“One of the employees there recognized the name, so on and so forth, so he actually reached out to the original owner of this vehicle’s daughter,” said Barry. “She then told her son, who is the grandson of the original owner, and he reached out when he caught wind of us having it.”

The car was purchased by Howard Bowerbank in 1961. It left his family shortly after his death in 2011.

Thirteen years later, his grandson Brandon Workman traveled from Colorado to Palestine to buy it back.

“After the tears, it was unbelievable, it was very much one of those things that we never thought we would see it again,” said Workman. “I haven’t seen this car in a long time and to have the range of memories just flood back all at once.”

Bowerbank’s great grandson BJ Workman said, “When I heard him get the call, he said, I got a call about the 1961 Ford Falcon, and I sat there in the car and I got goosebumps because I had only heard stories about it.”

The Falcon is in excellent condition for its age, thanks to the traditions of Workman’s grandfather.

“He never let it sit outside. If he went to visit my mom, he would ask her to take her vehicle out of the garage so he can pull his in for the night….big big proponent of the idea of if you take care of your equipment it will take care of you,” he said.

The Falcon’s next step is a very slow drive back to Colorado from Palestine.

“It’s going to be a slow drive. It’s going to take a number of hours. We are hoping to make it by Sunday….we will see if that can happen or not,” Brandon said.

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