By Noel Smith
The Bob Culbertson Memorial Celebration of Life was held on Saturday Jan 5, 2013 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Kennedy Center, 2401 East Lake Ave (Hwy 152) next to Our Lady Help of Christians Valley Catholic Church. At least two hundred people from the Central Coast and the Central Valley of California attended to pay their respects to the memory of Robert “Bob” Culbertson.
With Al Greeninger as MC, family members and business associates gave their personal remembrances. Culbertson had the privilege of being a father to two families consisting of three daughters and four stepsons, and was grandfather to 13 grandchildren and one great grandchild.
Grandson Josh Frey remembers Bob telling him that no matter what profession he chose, he should be able to say to himself, “I love what I do.” His children said that education for Bob’s family was expected. He was always humble, friendly and strove to be everyone’s friend giving opinion and not advice. Bob was a great listener because he believed that you could learn something from anyone.
Bob Culbertson was chosen Man of the Year in 2009 by the Watsonville Chamber of Commerce when he was 87 years old. Al Greeninger summed up Bob’s worldview as, “Love what you do, Love where you are, Love the people around you.”
Bob’s favorite poem was “The House by the Side of the Road,” by Sam Walter Foss, which sums up Bob’s approach to life. The poem’s last stanza says:
Let me live in my house by the side of the road,
Where the race of men go by-
They are good, they are bad, they are weak, they are strong,
Wise, foolish – so am I.
Then why should I sit in the scorner’s seat,
Or hurl the cynic’s ban?
Let me live in my house by the side of the road
And be a friend to man.
The 90-year-old Culbertson was the managing partner for the past 52 years of Marty Franich Chrysler Jeep Dodge. He had been active in the Santa Cruz County American Red Cross, the Watsonville Host Lions, Boy Scouts and veterans groups. For many years he sold cars to the country’s major rental car companies and was honored by Detroit as the first person to sell 1 million cars!
Bob was born April 24, 1922 on his parents farm near Delhi California. He graduated from Modesto JC and transferred to UC Berkeley with a major in Food Chemistry. Then came WWII. Culbertson was a Naval officer during World War II, serving in both Europe and the Pacific and commanding his own ship transporting Japanese Prisoners back to Japan.
His life’s legacy as shown by those who attended and spoke at his “Celebration of Life,” are his family and the people he met and influenced as he lived his long and productive life, “By the Side of the Road.”
Caption: Devin Parr, Tatum Frey (Little Girl), Erin Frey Chan, Joan Culbertson Frey, Jan Culbertson Dickey, Josh Frey, Joyce Culbertson Parr, Michael Holmes, Katie Holmes, Patrick Holmes, Al Greeninger
Photo Credit: Noel Smith