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William Vibe Obituary
William "Bill" Kenneth Vibe
August 4, 1946 - August 24, 2017
William "Bill" Kenneth Vibe, 71, of Castaic, CA passed away in his home with his loving and devoted wife by his side on August 24, 2017, after a courageous 2 1/2 year battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Teresa; children Andrea Vibe, Monica Allen, and David Vibe & wife Crystal Wong; brothers Robert "Bob" Vibe and Louis, James, & Joseph Marino; and grandchildren Morgan Barton, Brady Allen, and Scott Vibe Pieper. He is preceded in death by his parents and son, William Scott, who died in infancy.
Bill was born to the late Kenneth Vibe and Margaret Eunice Otto, on August 4, 1946, in Bakersfield. He graduated from Arvin High School in 1964, where he met his sweetheart, Teresa Ann Swain. They married in 1966 before moving to San Jose and Sacramento, where Bill received a BS in Business (Marketing) from Sacramento State College in 1971. Throughout his life Bill performed as a professional keyboardist across the country. After school they returned to Bakersfield where they ran a grocery store and operated a flight school and charter company. Feeling called to minister God's word, he earned his Master of Ministry from Southern California Theological Seminary in 1989. Shortly thereafter, the family moved to Valencia and Castaic, where they opened a travel agency. Bill pursued his passion of helping struggling churches learn to grow as an intentional interim pastor. In September 2014, Bill achieved his dream of having his own flock and founded Branded Heart Fellowship (Bakersfield). It was his family, congregation, and faith that allowed him to remain brave and strong through his battle.
A life celebration will be held Sept 9th at 11am at Bouquet Canyon Church, 27000 Bouquet Canyon Rd., Santa Clarita, CA 91350 and Sept 10th at 1pm at Heritage Bible Church, 2323 Mt Vernon Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93306.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Memories and Condolences
for William Vibe
Kim Hays
August 29, 2025
Have this picture on our founders wall at Branded Heart Fellowship. Miss his smiling face & honky tonk keyboard. He´d be thrilled to know that God has blessed what he started and his cowboy church is still a joyful place to come on Sunday mornings !
Kim Hays
August 29, 2024
I have a funny story. Teresa & I always stood at the door greeting the people as they came in and we stayed there throughout the sermon. Bill would spend a week preparing his sermons and even handed out voluminous notes for his congregation to follow but he would get excited and go off on rabbit trails. LOL So Teresa & I would try to help him get off of them. Sometimes we'd hold our fingers on each side of our heads & wiggle them to remind him he was on a Rabbit Trail again LOL
John Rodriguez
August 27, 2022
Rest In Peace my friend. God Bless You
Amanda McDaniel
September 11, 2017
This all seems surreal to me. I am mourning the loss of a beloved man, a true child of God! Bill resembled the laughter and love I was raised with back in Virginia. His unshakable love for the Lord was comforting. I am so glad he was able to plant his church and see its progression! Bill will remain in my heart and soul always. I cannot imagine singing while anyone else plays the keys! Teresa, Andrea, Monica, and David...I pray you will find rest and comfort in knowing how loved your Daddy is and that he is with our Heavenly Father. He is gone far too soon, but leaves such a legacy of family, friends, love, laughter, and music behind. We will always love ❤ Bill Vibe. So grateful he was in my life!
Larry Burge
September 9, 2017
We miss your humorous self, the joy you brought to our gatherings made us smile many times.
Kim Hays
September 8, 2017
I am so happy Bill finally got to have his own church, Branded Heart Fellowship in Bakersfield. We miss his sermons & his keyboard sooo much. All my love to you Teresa as well as Monica, Andrea & David. My heart is broken for all of you. May God give you all the peace you sorely need at this time. Much Love
Betty Jennings
September 6, 2017
Our condolences to the family. He was a very friendly and warm
man. A talented musician. Good to his mother. He can now join her in everlasting peace. He left his mark on this world and he will be missed.
Kenneth and Eldora Marsengill
September 6, 2017
Our sympathies to the Vibe family. May the joy of the Lord sustain you.
Theresa Spanke
September 5, 2017
I am saddened to hear about Bill's passing, but I know he is now at home with the Lord... where he prepared to be. To Teresa, Andrea and the rest of the family, I will hold you in my prayers that you find comfort from God's Amazing Grace.
September 3, 2017
Our deepest, sincerest condolences to you Theresa and your family. John and Grace Rodriguez and family ( Bakersfield )
Susan Kurtz
September 3, 2017
May God provide peace and comfort to you and your family, Teresa. Bill has always showed such strength and deep faith in God and I feel blessed to have participated in some of his recent services at Branded Heart fellowship.i treasure the friendship that goes back more than 50 years. May God bless you all.
Linda Morris-Crowe
September 3, 2017
My sincere condolences to the Vibes and Marinos. He left behind a sweet legacy and many wonderful memories. My heart is with you all. Sincerely, Linda Morris Crowe
Laurie Nichols-Lowe
September 2, 2017
My deepest sympathy to Bill's family ! I always enjoyed and appreciated his clear and direct message, at Cowboy Church. He was much loved and will be sorely missed!... May God's blessings continue to flow, for you Theresa, and your family!
September 2, 2017
Bill was a strong and vibrant man of God. How privileged to know him for a very long time. Thou I did not see Bill in recent years, I will most certainly watch for him in glory. Thank you for all the love, Sharon Garrison.
Tim May
September 2, 2017
Hey there Vibe family,
I just wanted to say that it was my honor to know Bill and all of you too. I'm happy that I was able to call him a friend. I'm going to miss his sense of humor. Wasn't expecting some of the jokes he told but knew that they would be and were funny.
I'm going to miss you Bill.
God bless,
Tim
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