John Edward Dobbs

JOHN EDWARD DOBBS October 2, 1940 – October 20, 2019                   John Edward Dobbs, age 79 of Park Rapids, MN formerly of Napa, CA, passed into eternal life on Sunday, October 20, 2019 at the Green Pine Acres Nursing Home in Menahga, MN with his loving wife, LuAnn at his side.                 John was born on October 2, 1940 in Deepwater, MO to William and Ruth (Halfen) Dobbs.  At the age of 1, he moved with his family to Vallejo, CA where he attended elementary and Jr. High School.  In 1954, his family moved to Napa, CA where he attended public high school graduating with the Class of 1958.  John then went on to attend the Napa Community College.  He worked for the Forestry Department as a firefighter for a time before beginning a long career working as a window glazier throughout California.  John met and married Bonnie Baham in 1961 and was blessed with two children: Shauna and Derek.  In 1977, John ventured to Minnesota where he settled in the Park Rapids area.  He worked in construction for a number of years.  One of his noteworthy construction projects was helping build the Lambwood Building at the Lamb-Westin-RDO Potato Plant of Park Rapids. He also drove semi-truck over the road for a number of years, before establishing a career selling real estate throughout the Park Rapids and surrounding areas for Century 21.  John was married to Kathy Sullivan and she preceded him in death in 2002.  His life was made full and complete in his marriage to LuAnn Marie Chaffee in March of 2017.  They were brought together by their love for designing and creating beautiful stained glass artwork.  John was also blessed with a wonderful green thumb and he loved to raise his vegetables into an abundant harvest while LuAnn nurtured her beautiful flowers into colorful splendor.  After waging a valiant battle against cancer for the last five years, John will be remembered by all who knew him as a big man with a gentle soul.                 He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, LuAnn Marie Dobbs of Park Rapids; his daughter, Shauna (Phil) Marshall of Napa, CA; his sister, Sherry (Clint) Holiday of Napa, CA; his brother, Richard (Theresa) Dobbs of WA; his step-children: Shannon (Josh) Aumiller of TX, Holly Hall of Ohio, June (Dan) Fox of Iowa, Billy Coons of Iowa, Shelly (Randy) Meech of Sebeka and Shannon (Troy) Burgau of Nisswa, MN; 15 dearly loved grandchildren and many precious great-grandchildren; as well as numerous nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends.                  John was preceded in death by his son, Derek; his brother, Bill; his wife, Kathy and his parents.                 A celebration of John’s life will be held from 10 AM -12 Noon Monday, November 4, 2019 at the Otto Hendrickson American Legion Post #212 in Park Rapids.    To leave online condolences please visit www.jonespearson.com