John Edward Gobeille

John Edward Gobeille, passed away on Sunday, May 29, 2016, at the age of 96 in Bellevue, Washington. He was born on February 13th, 1920 to William and Gertrude Gobeille in Cincinnati, Ohio.

John grew up in Ohio and Kentucky and loved to share many fond boyhood memories of exploring the beautiful forests and river of Rocky River, Ohio.

John attended Miami University in Oxford, Ohio where he was an active member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.

After college, John enlisted in the navy and during his naval officer training in New York City, he met his gorgeous wife, Carol, who was the absolute love of his life for 72 years.

They wed in San Francisco where he was a naval officer working on ship communications.

John’s career was in sales and business development. He owned and operated the W.H. Gobeille company in Chicago. He was a lifelong learner and later in life he opened a dental x-ray lab in Eugene. He was an active and respected leader in various professional organizations.

John and Carol raised their family in Milwaukee, Chicago and Kirkland. When they moved to the wonderful Pacific Northwest, they never looked back.

After retiring in 1996, John and Carol enjoyed the adventures of touring the country coast to coast by RV and then they settled down to enjoy family on Mercer Island for the last 16 years.

John’s passions included photography, flying his airplane, fishing, travel, enjoying Carol’s gourmet cuisine, following sports and the great outdoors.

John was preceded in death by his brother William “Bill” and his son John “Scott”. He is survived by his beloved wife, three children and daughters in law: David and Carolyn Gobeille of Bend, Oregon, Tom and Lee Gobeille of Bellevue, Suzanne and John Hansen of Mercer Island and Randi Gobeille of Kent; seven grandchildren: Matthew, Todd, Rachel, Jacob, John “JT”, Lucas Gobeille and Nicholas Hansen; three great grandchildren, Madeline and Amelia Gobeille and Alonzo Bixby.

John will always be remembered as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather and friend. He loved to sing, “You are My Sunshine,” to his treasured Carol. He was a fine gentleman, always generous in love and kindness. He will be remembered for his affection for family, creative spirit, joviality and strong Christian faith. He will be greatly missed but his family will always take comfort in countless cherished memories and his everlasting life in heaven.

A memorial service and celebration of John’s life will be held July 9th, 2016 at Covenant Shores on Mercer Island at 12:00. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes for donations to be made to the charitable organization of your choice in his memory.