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Robert S. Bowlby of Cannon Beach, Ore., passed away on Wednesday, June 22, 2022, at Seaside Hospital. He was 86 years old. A celebration of life will be held at Bridgeside Restaurant in Cascade Locks, Ore., from 2:30-4 p.m. on July 22. There will also be a friends and family gathering held at Idlewilde Cemetery in Hood River from 1-1:30 p.m.
He was born on Jan. 31, 1936, in Hood River, Ore., to Galen and Madge Bowlby. He was born in the house that his father built. He was the fourth of five children. He attended Coe Primary, Park Street Elementary, May Street Junior High and graduated from Hood River High School in 1954. He spent his first 20 years in Hood River. He had several jobs working in Hood River that included working in the local orchards, mowing lawns, and at age 15 worked in the local grocery as a delivery truck driver. He later worked at Standard Service stations with his brother Wayne.
He met Sharon Jo McNabb in Hood River in 1952 in high school and they married in 1955. They had three children, Christopher in 1956, Gregory in 1958, and Rebecca in 1962.
In 1956, he went to work for the Guy F. Atkinson company as a heavy equipment oiler on the Dalles Dam. This started a career as being a heavy construction dam builder that took him and family to several projects that included California, South Dakota, West Pakistan, South San Francisco head office, Missouri, Washington and others. Mangla Dam in West Pakistan was the largest Earth-filled dam in the world at the time 1963-1966. He worked as a timekeeper, paying the Pakistani’s work force with local currency weekly. He worked as a paymaster, office manager, purchasing manager and safety engineer. The international travel to Pakistan allowed him and family to travel home to the United States through Europe and seeing many United States traveling by car. He retired in 1988 after 42 years at age 62.
In 1945, when he was 9, the Bowlby family came to Cannon Beach, Ore. It was the first time he had seen the ocean. They stayed in the Cannon Beach Hotel. He thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. He asked his dad if he could work there and find a job. He retired there 55 years later with his wife Carol Ann Dunham. They enjoyed more than 20 years walking the beach together and exploring the Oregon Coast. He celebrated his birthdays with his family for many years at the Driftwood Inn in Cannon Beach
His favorite sports baseball team was the St. Louis Cardinals. His favorite player was Stan (“The Man”) Musial. He emulated and copied his swing in high school and was a Cardinal fan since 1946. He was proud that he was a lefty like his idol. He loved going to baseball games and watching his Cards. He also loved coaching his kids in sports and was known in the neighborhood as the cool dad that the kids wanted to play sports with. One of his proudest accomplishments was climbing Mount Hood when he was in high school. This carried on a family tradition that had started with his Grandfather Simpson. He loved music and his favorite was Frank Sinatra. He had several cats over the years and loved them all.
He had a great wit, loved a good joke, loved his family and was an honest and caring person. He passed on his work ethic to his family and never quit in anything he set out to do.
He will be sadly missed by his loved ones and will never be forgotten.
He is survived by son Christopher (Brenda) Bowlby of Longmont, Colo.; son Gregory (Patricia) Bowlby of Santa Rosa, Calif.; daughter; Rebecca (Bob) Anderson of Cannon Beach; and seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, older brothers Wayne and Vernon and older sister Lillian Magee and younger sister Nancy Worth.
To plant a tree in memory of Robert Bowlby as a living tribute, please visit Tribute Store.
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