Robert (Bob) Juan Arboleda passed away suddenly on Wednesday, November 14, 2018 in Missouri. He was preceded in death by his parents Emmett and Faith Arboleda. He is survived by his loving wife Judy; his children, Bobbi (Travis) Hillen and Scott (Christie) Arboleda; grandchildren, Steven and Sean Hillen; his siblings, Rich (Aila) Arboleda; Keith (Bev) Arboleda; Donny (Murna) Arboleda; Faith Ann Stumvoll and numerous nieces and nephews.
Bob was born February 13, 1943 in Minneapolis, MN. His family moved to Pine River, MN in 1944. An amazing family adventure occurred in 1956 when Emmett was stationed in Guam for the Navy and the family moved to the other side of the world. The family returned to Pine River, MN in 1958 and Bob graduated high school in 1961. He graduated from Concordia College, Moorhead, MN in 1966 with a degree in Political Science and History. In 1966, he accepted his commission in the Marine Corps.
Bob had a decorated military career in the Marine Corps. He served two tours of Vietnam. In 1967 – 1969, Bob was a 1st Lieutenant for the First Division, Ninth Marines. He was in the Battle of Khe Sanh. He was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal and a Presidential Unit Citation from his time in Vietnam. During his service Bob was stationed in Quantico, Camp Pendleton, Des Moines, and Camp Lejeune. In Des Moines, as a Captain, he started the first Marine Corps National Guard (4th Marine 4th Medical Battalion). In April of 1976, he was called upon by the nation to be the causality officer for one of the last soldiers to fall in Vietnam, Lance Corporal Darwin Judge of Marshalltown, Iowa.
In 1978 he left the Marine Corps and was hired by Detroit Diesel as a production supervisor. His travels within the Detroit Diesel organization were far and wide as he worked his way from the supervisor role and other jobs to his greatest passion of engineering. He worked on the Series 53, 71, 92, 149, 2000 and 4000 Diesel engines. In 1991 Bob completed his Master's Degree in Industrial Engineering at Eastern Michigan University.
Bob lived in Brighton, MI from 1982 - 2012. While in Brighton he pursued one of his lifelong dreams and received his private pilots license in 1985. He retired from Detroit Diesel in 2006. He spent time with his family, grandchildren, and friends and enjoyed fishing for the next several years.
In 2012, Bob reunited with Judy Filibeck, his high school sweetheart. They were married in 2017. Bob and Judy had wonderful adventures together. They enjoyed traveling and experiencing new places together. They settled in Tucson, AZ but traveled back to Pine River, MN for the summers.
Bob will be deeply missed by many. His family, friends, military and Detroit Diesel family will miss sharing his zest for life, tremendous times fishing, his stories, his laughs and his love for all of us. It was an honor to share his life.
Please join us in celebrating Bob's amazing life by attending a celebration of his life 2PM June 22nd, 2019 in Pine River, MN at Kline Funeral Home, followed by a reception at the Pine River American Legion.
Should friends desire, donations may be made in Robert Arboleda's name to one of the following organizations:
Khe Sanh Veterans Organization: Khe Sanh Veterans
Wilderness Canoe Base via Camp Wapogasset Lutheran Bible Camp
Dad grew up in the small north central town of Pine River Minnesota.
Dad was the oldest of five siblings. He had three brothers; Rich, Donny and Keith and one sister; Faith Ann. In high school, he was a member of the football and track team. He was one of the last classes to attend the 'old' school in town.
He worked a variety of jobs. He was a newspaper boy, drove truck, and worked at the Land O'Lakes Dairy. One summer he was employed as a trail guide in the Boundary Waters. I remember him telling me the story of the lady who made the best root beer. She could portage a canoe better than he could. https://www.rootbeerlady.com/
Dad had countless tales of the adventures he and his friends had growing up. We welcome any stories Dad and his various adventures. You can post these on the stories tab.
Grandpa Emmett was stationed in Guam from 1956 to 1958. The family travelled across the world via train and ship in 1956. Dad had saved his certificate of the Golden Dragon showing he had passed over the 180th meridian via ship on March 20th, 1956.
Dad had many tall tales of finding unspent Japanese and American bullets, bombs and grenades in the jungles as kids. He told me stories of shooting old Japanese machine guns and throwing grenades into caves. The 'fun' ended however when live rounds were brought back home and Grandma Faith found out what the kids had been playing within the Jungle.
Dad loved to dive, fish, and swim in the Pacific Ocean. He was proud of how long he could hold his breath to deep sea dive with the locals. He told many stories of diving for Conch shells. One time he found one beautiful shell deep in the ocean. He stuffed the shell in his shirt to bring it back to shore. Unfortunately, the shell's resident cut dad's chest and he started bleeding. He did not want to be attacked by the sharks. So he dropped the shell and swam back to shore as fast as he could.
Dad had a special connection with the Boundary Waters canoe area in Northern Minnesota. He and his childhood friends traveled there for a high school trip before they embarked into the world after high school. Dad returned several summers to the Boundary Waters to work at the Wilderness Canoe Base during his college years. He helped construct the camp in its early days, and was most importantly a canoe guide. He had several fascinating stories about being a guide, including one in which his group canoed to the Hudson Bay and returned. The entire summer was that one trip.
I was extremely fortunate and was able to return the Boundary Waters for two canoe trips with my Dad. We visited the Wilderness Canoe Base during one trip and they were extremely friendly and accommodating. Most of the guides were so curious to hear about the early years of the Canoe Base, and Dad was happy to tell. We were able to use the Camp Sauna after Dad had recounted stories from the early years. Dad and I sat in the Sauna for 45 minutes and then I proceeded to see my 47 year old father step outside, sprint top speed and jump off the end of the dock in the cold waters of Seagull lake. I paused thought about it, assessed that if Dad could do it I could, then I followed right behind him. To this day, I still can vividly recount the feeling of immersing into the cold water after sitting in a sauna.
Bob, Vern Arndt and I were roommates at TBS in 1967. Bob was married and lived off base. Therefore he didn’t spend many nights in our room except when we had night exercises or something very early in the day. Consequently we didn’t get to know Bob as much as we would have liked. Based on all the memories and stories posted on his memorial, we really missed out.
I remember him as a tough little guy with no quit in him. He was quick to smile and had a good sense of humor. I could tell by the gleam in his eye and wry little smile that he was definitely full of it.
After TBS, everyone went separate ways, but we all ended up “over there.” We were young and gung ho and in spite of all of our training, had no real idea of what we were in for. Vern and I both did our tours in Viet Nam as 0302 (infantry) platoon and company commanders, the same as Bob. After 50 years those experiences are still vivid in my mind. Bob did TWO tours which I can not imagine and I salute him. Bob, Vern and I were among the lucky ones who came home to marry, raise children, enjoy grandchildren and live a full life. I thank God every day for all that He has given me in my life.
My sincerest condolences to Judy, Scott and Bob’s other children and grandchildren.
May God grant you eternal rest Bob and bring peace to your family.
Rich Andrews
Alamo, CA
