Gil Ribera

Gil Ribera Apr. 19, 1936 - Dec. 3, 2010 Resident of Union City Passed away peacefully at his home, surrounded by his loving family, on Friday, December 3, 2010. Gil was born and raised in San Francisco. He attended St. Ignatius High School where he was Student body President. He studied at U.C. Berkeley, USF, and SF State, earning Bachelors and Masters degrees in Business. Gil served 2 yrs in the U.S. Marine Reserves, and 2 yrs in the U.S. Army. He worked at Standard Oil Company and KFRC radio station in San Francisco while attending college. Gil was an instructor at Chabot Community College in Hayward for 34 years, serving as Business Division Dean, Faculty Senate President, and the Teachers Union President. One of his many contributions to Chabot was the development of programs for handicapped students. After retirement Gil joined his son, Tyler, in creating Ribera Investment Management, LLC. Gil was a sports enthusiast and served on the board of directors of the Old Time Athletes Association of Northern California. He was an avid handball player for 30 years, enjoyed golf, loved watching Cal Bears football, and was a lifelong fan of the San Francisco 49'ers. Gil also authored a number of textbooks, a fiction novel, and obtained patents for an invention for use by golfers. He enjoyed the horse races, and cherished casino outings with his wife and his good friends from Chabot. Gil will be greatly missed by his family, his many friends, the Chabot College community, and his clients with whom he had formed close relationships. He often said that family and friends are the most important things in life. Gil is survived by his loving wife of 26 years, Sue; children Phil Ribera (Gale) of Danville, Tyler Ribera (Sandra) of Alameda, Christine Ellinger of Scottsdale, AZ, Jennifer Ford (Christ) of San Jose, and Robin Spillner (Mark) of San Ramon; grandchildren Cari, Megan, Zach, Ethan, Ben, Logan, Lacey, Buck, and Jacob. He is also survived by his siblings: Paul Ribera of San Rafael, Carmen Ribera of Sacramento, Vickie Brugnara of San Francisco, Tony Ribera (Cathy) of San Francisco; brothers-in-law, Don Buchholz of Union City, Jim Buchholz (Suzanne) of Hayward; sister-in-law, Linda Rogers (Buddy) of Las Vegas, NV, and many wonderful nieces and nephews. Gil was preceded in death by his father, Ernest, mother, Lucy, brother, Ernie, and brother-in-law, Aleo. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial mass on Saturday, December 11, 2010, at 3 p.m., at St. Cecilia Catholic Church at 2555 17th Avenue (at Vicente), San Francisco, Ca. Memorial contributions are suggested in lieu of flowers, to the AHS Boosters (a non-profit, supporting Alameda High School sports programs).