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James Bubb Obituary
Dan was born at Deaconess Hospital in St. Louis, MO on August 27, 1952 to Frank William Bubb, Jr. and LaVerne Evelyn Bubb (nee Rosenow). He was brother to Frank W. Bubb, III (deceased), John M. Bubb, Lisa A. Jorgensen (nee Bubb), and William A. Bubb, brother-in-law to Enid Sanchez-Bubb, uncle to Daniel E. and David W. Bubb, Andrew T. and Michael N. Geuss, Erik Daniel Jorgensen, Isabela C., Ariana M. and Sarah Daniela Bubb, stepbrother to Deborah Webb, Denise Baker, Lisa Warner, Amy and Judy Papian, and stepson to Patricia Bubb and William Papian.
Dan showed an early mechanical aptitude by disassembling and re-assembling his tricycle at age 3. At age 14, he designed and fabricated his custom monocoque go-kart with independent suspension. He earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University and worked as a lead mechanical design engineer. His employment included: Artronix where he worked on brain-scanning and tomography equipment, Ford Aerospace (formerly Loral Aerospace) where he worked on classified programs, and 4Wave during the pinnacle of his career, where he designed and oversaw the assembly and operational testing of custom ion beam etching equipment and vacuum assemblies.
Dan was the quintessential mechanical engineer/gearhead who once adapted a Fiat 850 Coupe to accept a Fiat 124 engine, including designing and fabricating his own fuel injection system, exhaust system, cooling system, suspension and numerous other adaptations. His other feats include turbocharging numerous VW Sciroccos and customizing the Engine Control Units per application. He also designed, fabricated, and sold numerous sets of engine mounts to facilitate engine / transmission transplants and is cited for his extraordinary mechanical abilities in numerous posts on www.VWVortext.com. He loved automobile racing and raced his beloved metallic lime green '76 Scirocco in autocross in G-stock class, undefeated locally and winning his class convincingly in the Midwest division in 1978.
Dan is survived by his sister Lisa, brothers John and William, his sister-in-law Enid, nieces, nephews, and stepsisters.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
3 Entries
John Bubb
September 16, 2024
My first memory of Dan. It was a very warm, breezy day in late summer, puffy white clouds. I was in our back yard. My mother came into the back yard carrying something small wrapped in a pale yellow blanket. I had no idea what it was, and I could not talk so much because I was 20 months old, so I reached up with both hands to show Mom that I wanted to see what she was carrying.
She knelt down and showed me Dan's face. She had just brought him home from the hospital, he was about 8 or 10 days old. Thus began a friendship of nearly 72 years. RIP, brother Dan.
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Tony Collins
August 21, 2024
He was the biggest grouch ever when it came to working in his garage (sometimes in general :)). You had to have the car washed before it made it up his drive way and into the garage. Most of us that lived in Maryland about 20 years ago can thank him for being an incredible teacher and host. For those few of us "Maryland Card Holders" #iykyk we were truly blessed by his knowledge and engineering capabilities. We did "tech days" at his place, were we ran between 4-6 cars through the same maintenance procedures. We talked cars, turned wrenches, ate pizza and drank beer, all while under his guide. Dan sure knew how to tackle problems and looked for a million solutions, but he also was a bit of a perfectionist which made most things he built almost like art. I am going to miss him and his complaints very much. I can say that I call a select group of people friends, most of them made because of our afflictions to this little weird VW Sciroccos. He was definitely a friend of mine and sadly I feel like he has gone way too soon. The last time I talked to him was on our way to last cincy get together, Joe called him as we made our way. I remember how great it was to talk to him and secretly hoped that the man would get in the car and make his way to Ohio. RIP Dan.
My condolences to your family
Jannette Nelson
July 31, 2024
Dan ... I remember the first time we met. We worked together when you were at Ford Aerospace. Our friendship grew .. eventually you moved from the Springs to Aurora where we lived together for many years. We had a lot in common .. work .. motorcycles .. cars .. racing .. mexican food. I'll always remember eating orange sherbert in the middle of the night .. sometimes chips and salsa. Then ... our Baby Girl was born ... Shelby Lynn Nelson. I remember your mom and sister coming to Colorado to visit and see her. I was sorry to hear about your mom ... but It was so nice that Shelby was mentioned in your mom's obituary as her granddaughter. I will always believe that out of all your accomplishments in life .... Shelby ... will always be the greatest. She was an amazing little girl .. that has grown into an extraordinary woman. And though you have left this earth .. there is a part of you ... still here. Watch over her.
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