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His Life

The Show Must Go On - Bob's Acting Pedigree

April 23, 2015

Inherit the Wind

The Mikado

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Annie

Sound of Music

Guys and Dolls

My Fair Lady

Frankenstein

A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum

On Golden Pond

Sawdusters 22 years

Godspell

Gypsy

MASH

Reprising It

Turkish Bath

That Championship Season

Seven Year Itch

Love Letters

The Odd Couple

The Pajama Game

The Music Man

The Crucible

The Man for All Seasons

The Unsinkable Molly Brown

Arsenic and Old Lace

Carousel

Bob's Obituary

April 22, 2015

The Honorable Robert F. Walberg

May 11, 1934 – April 12, 2015

Robert “Bob” Walberg was born in Garibaldi, Oregon, the only child of Bert and Aimee Walberg. He used to tell his daughters that he was born on a fishing boat, but they never believed him. Bob spent much of his early childhood in Eugene, before moving to North Bend in 1946, where his father owned an RC Cola bottling plant.  He attended North Bend High School and played football, basketball and baseball, before graduating in 1952.  After graduating from the University of Oregon in 1956, where he was a proud member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, he served our country as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1957-1962. Bob started law school at USC in 1960 and graduated from Willamette Law School in 1962.

After law school, he returned to North Bend and went into private law practice. He proudly served as Coos County District Attorney from 1964-1968 and Coos County Circuit Court Judge from 1981 until his retirement in 1997.

In the 1970s, Bob discovered a passion for acting.  As he himself noted, he was already acting in court every day, so making the transition to the stage was not difficult. He was a gifted actor, playing in a long list of dramas, comedies and musicals in local theaters, particularly at Little Theatre on the Bay.  For 22 summers, he was also a regular at the Sawdust Theatre in Coquille, starring either in the Olios or as the best melodramatic villain this side of the Mississippi. Oh, that evil laugh!

In his earlier years, Bob liked sailing with his dad at the Coos Bay Yacht Club at Tenmile Lake.  As a father and grandpa, he enjoyed spending time with his children and their kids, and especially liked to support them at their ball games and concerts. He took pride in the fact that he taught his daughters how to jitterbug, bait a fishhook and caddy on the golf course, and schooled his sons and grandsons in the art of being a gentleman. Bob’s family and friends could always rely on him for advice and support. He disliked peanut butter and travel almost as much as he liked chocolate and the Oregon Ducks.

Upon retirement, Bob moved with Diane, his wife of 33 years, to Sunriver, where he spent many a happy day playing his favorite sport – golf. They wintered in Arizona and loved watching Spring Training baseball games. He could usually be found in a golf shirt and one of the hats from his extensive collection, often walking with his dogs or paddling down the Deschutes in a canoe with Diane.

Bob was a class act, and he will be missed by a great big blended family who loved him dearly: his beloved wife, Diane; his children - Gretchen Walberg Kupin (Ivan) of Jakarta, Indonesia; Sarah Walberg Hatfield (Brady) of Ellensburg, Washington; Michelle Briscoe of Seattle, Washington; Eric Walberg (Jodie) of Bend, Oregon; Donny Walberg (Allison) of Sherwood, Oregon; Maria Walberg of Bend, Oregon; his grandchildren – Jackson, Tyson, Jordan, Finn, Benjamin, Samantha, Ayden and Owen; his cousins - Connie Nitschke (Eldon) of North Bend, Oregon; Jack Smith (Barbara) of Banning, California; and Shari Cochran (Bill) of Langley, Washington. He will also be missed by Julie Griffey Schwab, Lori Griffey Clark, Suzie Newton, Patricia Borcher, and many, many other friends.