Raymond E. Humbertson's nephew remembers him as "a very generous, very fun guy" who liked to work on cars.

Too bad he's not around to work on the 1957 Belvedere he won Friday.

At 384,743, Raymond Humbertson's 1957 entry to guess Tulsa's population in 2007 came closest to the actual number of 382,457. The prize is the 1957 Plymouth Belvedere that was buried at the Tulsa County Courthouse 50 years ago and recovered on June 15, plus a savings account worth a little more than $700.

But Humbertson died of cancer in 1979 at the age of 57. His wife, Margaret Humbertson, died in 1988, leaving two elderly sisters in Maryland as his closest living relatives.

"I loved Raymond," said his nephew Donald Humbertson, speaking by phone from Woodbridge, Va. "There were six of us kids, and since he had no kids of his own, I guess he kind of gravitated to us.

"He was just sort of a happy-go-lucky guy."

Donald Humbertson, a Washington, D.C.-area educator, said his uncle was a career Marine and a Korean War veteran who spent the last few years of his life as an administrator at Northern Virginia Community College.

Donald Humbertson said he didn't know that his uncle had ever been to Tulsa but that he might have been stationed here as a recruiting officer.

"He moved around a lot," Donald Humbertson said.

Coincidentally, the Humbertsons are holding a family reunion Saturday to unveil a new family monument in a Cumberland, W.Va., cemetery.

"This will probably give us something to talk about," said Raymond Humbertson's grand-niece, Dina Lawyer.

Lawyer learned of Raymond Humbertson's sudden celebrity from her father-in-law in Mississippi, who had seen Humbertson's name in a Tulsaworld.com breaking news story shortly after the winner was disclosed.

About 100 spectators crowded East Tulsa Dodge's showroom for Friday's noon announcement of the winner. Dealership owner Yvonne Hovell said a steady stream of visitors has come through to see the Belvedere since it took up residence there Sunday night.

"The Service Department opens at 7 in the morning, and people would be standing outside, waiting to get in to see the car," Hovell said.

"At 8 o'clock at night, we'd have to tell people it was time to go home."

The car will be moved to a storage building on Monday.

Bob Morgan of the accounting firm Deloitte said 812 entries were tabulated, most from forms that seem to have been placed at various locations around town. About 50 were mailed, including one with a science fiction story attached and a return address of "Jupiter Excursions, Inc."

The birth years of those who entered the contest range from 1888 to 1957, and their guesses for Tulsa's current population range from zero to "north of 2 billion."

The city's population 50 years ago has been estimated at 250,000.

Some authorities estimated that the Belvedere would have been worth as much as $50,000 if it had been in good condition, but it turned out to be so badly damaged by water that its value now is almost entirely historical.

Meanwhile, plans are under way for yet another Tulsa time capsule, this one in Centennial Park next to the Plymouth Prowler that was buried in 1998.

Tulsa's Young Professionals and the Junior League of Tulsa confirmed that they are putting together a capsule that they hope will also include "a large item" to be unveiled in 2057.

"Maybe a Dodge pickup," Tulsa Young Professionals' Marnie Ducato joked to Hovell. "A Harley-Davidson motorcycle has been mentioned, or maybe part of an airplane."

The 2057 time capsule is scheduled to be buried on Nov. 10.

Randy Krehbiel 581-8365
randy.krehbiel@tulsaworld.com

Top 10 closest guesses

to Tulsa 2007 population of 382,457

About the guesses

Several people listed their birthplace as " INDIAN TERRITORY. "

One person typed a short sci-fi essay and listed an address as JUPITER EXCURSIONS INC .

The low estimate was ZERO (4 guesses), the highest was 1-2 BILLION (5 guesses). A lot of people were reasonably in the ballpark.

Ninety-six entries used names beginning with "MRS." FOLLOWED BY THE HUSBAND'S NAME .

The DATES OF BIRTH range from 1888 to 1957.

Tulsa did not have its current ZIP CODES , but instead the addresses used were Tulsa 5, Tulsa 6, etc.

There were several FAMILY ENTRIES; some guesses designated up to 3 heirs.

There was a page with guesses by school-age CHILDREN (12-13 years old).

The STATE OF BIRTH had 398 Oklahoma, 2 Canada, 1 Latvia, 302 from 32 other states, 109 not available.