Robert Lewis Stanbery

GILBERT – Robert Lewis Stanbery, 78, of Gilbert, AZ, passed away on October 6, 2018. He was born June 25, 1940 in Boise, Idaho, to William “Stanley” and Emma (Thompson) Stanbery. He got his undergraduate degree on a boxing scholarship from the University of Idaho in “Little Siberia”, Moscow, Idaho, and his graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Arizona. He worked at Hughes Aircraft/Raytheon for 31 years, and enjoyed the freedom of retirement for nearly 25 more. He is remembered with love by his wife Joan of 23 years, as well as by his son, Bret Stanbery, and daughter, Camille (Gary Meyers) Stanbery, from his first marriage to Geraldine (Linderman). He is also survived by granddaughter, Leah Stanbery, great-granddaughter, Liliana Santisteban, and step-daughter, Debra (Doug) Clark. A major passion of his life was competitive spearfishing, which earned him a World Record for the Giant (Black) Sea Bass in 1968, which he still holds. His second great passion of his life was travel, and he was able to spend the majority of his retired years on Maui and in Mazatlan, Mexico. He loved sports, and watched every University of Arizona men’s basketball game, and Phoenix Mercury WNBA game. There is a small memorial planned for immediate family in June, 2019, at Silver Strand Beach in Oxnard, CA. Memorial donations can be made to Long Beach Neptunes Spearfishing Club at 1607 N Dressage St, Orange, CA 92869, or to PayPal at Lbneptunespayment@gmail.com .