Daniel Kribbs CORBETT

CORBETT, Daniel Kribbs Daniel "Dan" Kribbs Corbett, 74, died at his home in Juno Beach, Florida, on July 31, 2017 after a long illness, his wife Carmen by his side. Dan was a humble and honorable man. He was constantly curious, wanting to learn about everyone and everything. Dan recognized the best qualities of the people he met, doing so without regard to gender, race, nationality, religion, education or other characteristic. Dan was born at home in Rimersburg, Pennsylvania, on May 25, 1943, to C. Wilson Corbett and Lavinia Jeanette Kribbs Corbett. His dad worked as a foreman for the Rimersburg Coal Co. When union activity caused uneasiness, he chose to relocate the family to Sugarloaf Key, Florida, where the company's owners needed him to supervise development of Sugarloaf Shores. Dan was just nine at the time, and the next four years in the Keys proved a goldmine of adventure and exploration for him. Later, he would entertain his classmates with tales of those times. His dad dubbed him the "yak master" -- with good reason. When the Keys project was completed, the family moved to Gahanna, Ohio, a small rural community outside Columbus where Dan attended Jefferson Intermediate School. Entering the local spelling bee, he made it all the way to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Dan called it luck. "I'd rather be lucky than smart," was one of his favorite sayings. But Dan was smart, too. After graduating from Gahanna-Lincoln High School, he was admitted to Dartmouth College on scholarship. Here, exploration and adventure took the form of literature, and he had an amazing ability to retain all he consumed. In his junior year, he fell in love with rugby and his teammates elected him captain. That might have been momentous enough, but so was the blind date he agreed to for Green Key weekend. Her name was Carmen Rivard. Dan told Carmen he was playing in a rugby match that afternoon, and since he was captain, he needed to stay all day for other matches -- and then repeat it all on Sunday. She had never heard of rugby, but she liked his blue eyes and dimples and stayed. He decided she was a pretty good sport, and they were married six years later. When he graduated from Dartmouth in 1965, the Vietnam War was raging and the military draft was in force. From 1966 to 1970, he served his country, first with the Coast Guard Reserves, then the U.S. Navy from OCS serving on the USS Mauna Kea. Later, he was skipper of a Swift Boat in the Vietnam Riverine Force. Dan and his crew were constantly under attack during patrols, but though there were injuries, he never lost a man. He was discharged in 1970 at Treasure Island, San Francisco, California. For his service, he was awarded the Bronze Star (with Combat V). "I was a lucky guy," he commented. He and Carmen were married that August and settled in San Francisco. Dan tried law school but found it difficult to concentrate and to adjust stateside. In 1971, with their accumulated savings, they decided to travel and were gone 2 1/2 years -- more adventure and exploration. They traveled on foot and local transport. They crossed the Sahara, sending postcards from Timbuktu. They took a barge up the Congo River and visited Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya. From Kenya, they boarded a boat to Bombay and made their way to Hong Kong where they worked a school term to gather funds for a trip home. The return trip was from Japan to the U.S.S.R. They boarded the Trans-Siberian Railroad and went on to Lapland. There they hopped a mail boat and traveled through the fjords. Finally, there was the flight home. They returned to a faltering economy. Dan struggled with part-time work until 1976, when he made a second attempt at law school. This one was successful and he graduated from the University of Miami in 1979. He was 36 years old with a wealth of life experience in the midst of young lawyers hoping for partnership one day. He was not comfortable there. He found his niche by going into solo practice in Juno Beach. Before long, he was appointed to the Planning and Zoning board and later served 10 years as Councilman. Dan loved the small coastal town and supported preserving Juno Beach's natural areas. While that meant a loss of tax revenue for the Town, Dan felt that preservation was worth more. Today 40 percent of the town is known as Juno Dunes Natural Area. Dan had loved history since his twenties. Now, enrolling at FAU, he obtained BA and MA degrees in history. He became an "adjunct professor" at Palm Beach State College, teaching American History for over 10 years. He loved teaching. "I am a lucky guy," he said happily. Dan talked about history so much that Town officials decided he would be the Town Historian. He surprised the Town by writing the "History of Juno Beach." He also wrote a guest column for The Jupiter Courier, featuring north county historical stories of pioneers and places. While Dan loved the town, the town loved him back, despite his love for and mischievous use of puns. In 2010, he was named Civic Person of the Year. In 2012, the Juno Beach Civic Association awarded him the Lifetime Achievement Award. "I'm lucky," he said simply. In 2000, Dan suggested it was time to start planning for retirement. Why not hike the Appalachian Trail, he asked? So in 2003, at 60 years of age, he and Carmen, slightly overweight, began section hiking the AT during the summers. But in 2009, Dan began falling, face planted a few times, and the hike ended after 10 miles. Dan was diagnosed with Parkinsonism (MSA-C), connected to the defoliant Agent Orange that was sprayed in Vietnam while he was there. Dan was predeceased by his parents and his brother Michael Wilson Corbett. He is survived by his sister Susanna Corbett of Rockport, Texas, and by many friends from all areas of his life, by nieces, nephews, and cousins, and by his best friend and wife, Carmen. Arrangements are entrusted to the Neptune Society. Services will be at the South Florida National Cemetery in Lake Worth at a later date. Memorial donations can be made to the DAV Charitable Service Trust, 3725 Alexandria Pike, Cold Spring, KY 41076, (DAV.org) or to National Vietnam Veterans Foundation, 2020 Pennsylvania Ave NW, #336, Washington, DC 20006.