Robert Eugene Dighera

1949 - 2017

Robert Eugene Bob' Dighera May 21, 1949 - August 28, 2017 Chula Vista Robert "Bob" Eugene Dighera was born on May 21, 1949 in Richmond, California to Phyllis Arlene Prigge and Vernice Eugene Dighera. After a courageous battle with cancer, Bob passed at his home in Chula Vista, California on the morning of August 28, 2017.After his parents divorced in 1952, his mother married Eugene Muratore and the family moved to Fresno, California. As Bob grew so did his family and he became the big brother to James "Jim", Frank, Kim and Michelle. He graduated high school in the summer of 1967 and continued his education at Fresno City College where he would go on to earn an AA degree. As was the case with many at that time, Bob enlisted in the Army and served in the Vietnam War from 1968 - 1971. Bob also married during this time and in 1971, he was blessed with the birth of his daughter, Tami and then in 1976 the joyous birth of his son, Nathan. His growing family and his service to his country had a significant impact on his life and upon leaving the Army he sought other opportunities to continue his service on the home front. The same year he separated from the Army, Bob joined the U.S. Marshals Service. He would serve with the U.S. Marshals Service from 1971-2005 and would leave a lasting legacy within the service. He began his career as Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Eastern District of California. In 1979, Bob was promoted to Enforcement Specialist for the Southern District of California and in 1983 he was promoted to a Senior Inspector with the Enforcement Operations Division. After serving as a Senior Inspector for one year, Bob was promoted to the Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal in the Southern District of California and served in this position for over 16 years. His contributions to the Marshals Service were monumental. Bob was part of the team that located and arrested escaped federal prisoner and Russian spy Christopher Boyce, recognized through the book and movie, "The Falcon and the Snowman" and "The Flight of the Falcon". In 1983, Bob was also part of the team that hunted down the violent fugitives responsible for murdering North Dakota's U.S. Marshal Ken Muir and DUSM Robert Cheshire. He served as the Commander of the Fugitive Investigative Strike Team (FIST VI) Operation for the State of California in 1984. During the three month operation over 2,100 felons were arrested. At the time, this was considered the biggest manhunt in U.S. history. Perhaps Bob's greatest professional achievement was his development of one of the first permanent fugitive task forces in the country. The San Diego Fugitive Task Force is credited with almost 47,000 fugitive arrests to date. The Task Force has had a nationwide impact and changed the way agencies work together for the common goal of ensuring the safety of the community. During Bob's career, he mentored many young deputies, teaching them not only about how to hunt a fugitive or protect a judicial figure, but about life in general. Many of those deputies are now leaders throughout the Marshals Service and will continue Bob's legacy by mentoring others and fostering the spirit, tenacity, and creativity of Chief Dighera.Although Bob's professional impact is immeasurable, it was the relationships in his life that meant the most to him. For years, his life revolved around his family and children, Tami and Nathan. He was the dad that was either coaching or yelling from the stands during their many softball/baseball games. Whether he was sharing the results of the game or sharing their latest family rafting trip along the Colorado River, there was always joy in his voice when he spoke of them. In the year 2000, he met his wife, Edna, and they began dating in 2001. They adopted their fur child, Diego, in September 2007. Bob proposed to Edna on New Year's Eve 2012 and they married on April 26, 2013. They had a beautiful wedding and the love they shared was evident. Their first trip as a married couple was to Rome for their honeymoon and that was just the beginning of the many trips they would take together, as husband and wife, and the first of many travel memories they would make. Bob was passionate about traveling and particularly loved road trips. He and Edna would rent a car and just drive visiting places like Yellowstone and South Carolina where they weathered Hurricane Irene together. They also made several trips to Mexico and most recently traveled to Guatemala in December of 2016. He enjoyed the trip thoroughly and was ready to go back. Another of Bob's passions was the Star Pal program. He believed in the mission of the program to empower underserved youth and to build a relationship between law enforcement and the public. He was an avid supporter. He also enjoyed organizing events while serving with the Marshals Service. He loved tailgating (even if his beloved Yankees weren't playing) and agency picnics. You could always count on him to be behind the grill. Bob was larger than life. His passion, dedication to service, creativity and zest for life has left an impression on all the lives he touched.Bob is survived by his wife, Edna Dighera, his daughter Tami Dighera and his son, Nathan Dighera. In addition to his wife and children, he is survived by his stepfather, Eugene Muratore, his two brothers, James and Frank Muratore, and his two sisters, Kim and Michelle Muratore. Visitation will be held Thursday, September 14, 2017 at Cypress View Mausoleum Mortuary and Crematory located at 3953 Imperial Avenue, San Diego, CA 92113 from 5:00pm to 9:00pm.Funeral Services will be held Friday, September 15, 2017 at Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery located at 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive, San Diego, CA 92106. Guests are asked to arrive at 1:30 and position themselves at the cemetery office for the procession.In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to the Star Pal organization in Bob's memory. For more information about the organization please visit starpal.org