Obituary of Robert Erling Dibble

Bob was born on January 5, 1928 in Tampa, Florida to Robey and James F. Stone (nee Floyd Dibble), a traveling actor. Bob lived in many cities before his mother, after she and James divorced, settled in Rochester, NY.where his paternal grandparents lived and with whom he often stayed. In 1935 Robey married a prominent Rochester lawyer who had no children. For two years Bob attended a military academy, a traumatic episode for such a young boy. Later as a student at Brighton High School in Rochester Bob lettered in track and basketball and developed a life-long passion for these two sports as well as boxing, a sport he also pursued as an amateur. After high school graduation in 1946 Bob attended a local community college. His mother and her husband divorced in 1947 which left Bob and her at loose ends. For many years Bob had been enamored of the movie and newsreel depictions of Southern California and yearned to travel to that storied area to see it for himself. Circumstances had combined to propel mother and son from cold weather upstate New York to sunny Southern California to begin a new life in 1948. They never looked back. Two years later his grandparents and dad, who had bee living in New York City appearing on the stage and writing scripts, joined Bob and his mother in Hollywood. Jim pursued his acting career, appearing in character roles in movies and television. The extended family moved into a large rental home in the heart of Hollywood and Bob decided to continue his education at Los Angeles City College with the goal of transferring to UCLA. The following year that goal was realized with a transfer to UCLA for his final years of military deferment but alas much to Bob's chagrin the draft board caught up with him for service in the army and his dream of graduating from UCLA was put on hold. But Bob alwaus tried to convince himself thatt thisngs usually turn out for the best and so they did. He was stationed in Hawaii where he met his future wife, Fran Stuart and began the road to a new and better life. She joined him in California in 1958 and they were married in 1959. During this period Bob held many different jobs but he alsys said Fran was correct in pointing out that he would enjoy teaching. He found out that it suited him very well. After graduating from UCLA in 1960 he began teaching at California Military Academy and subsequently in Newhall and finally in Thousand Oaks in 1962 teaching middle school English. Fran got a job in Thousand Oaks the following year and in 1966 they moved to the small suburb of Thousand oaks where they were employed and watched it grow. Since the early fifties Bob had been developing an interest in classic cars, the bg and expensive pre-was cars of lore and legend. In 1955 the Classic Car Club of America was formed for fanciers and Bob became a charter member. Over the years he owned many fine cars and drove them with pride. In 1965 their son, Chris, was born completing the family circle.During these years Bob, always a dog lover, became interested in owning and showing Newfoundlands, having had one as a boy. The family did a lot of traveling around the state and the country pursuing the hobby and making many lifelong friends.They owned many top-winning show dogs. Bob was made an honorary member of The Newfoundland Club of Southern California and The Newfoundland Club of America. In 1972 the family moved to their present house in Lynn Ranch. Chris had absorbed Bob's love of basketball and gave his dad many proud moments as he played on teams from elementary school through college. In 1987 Bob retired from teaching but kept busy by driving a limousine for a local company, a job he found fun and rewarding. He regularly met a group of "car guys" for lunch at local establishments and attended several car shows. By the millennium Bob was experiencing som serious health problems and had several surgeries. Chris had moved to the Bay Area but kept in touch almost daily. In 2007 Chris married Maebel and brought us a lovely daughter-in-law. In 2008 his first grandchild, Danielle, was born followed in 2014 by Gabrielle. Bob died on June5, 2015 of congestive heart failure and will be greatly missed by wife Fran, son Chris, daughter-in-law Maebel and grandchildren Danielle and Gabrielle.