David Henry Tibbitts

1945 - 2023

David Henry Tibbitts
July 27, 1945 - June 4, 2023
Los Osos, California - David Henry Tibbitts passed away peacefully on June 4, 2023 with his loving and devoted wife, Stephanie Heigel-Tibbitts by his side.
David was born in Long Beach, CA on July 27, 1945. He grew up near the ocean and had a love for surfing and the water at an early age. He graduated from Van Nuys High School in 1963 and joined the Navy. Upon leaving the Navy in 1966 he started working for his fathers dog grooming business which catered to the stars in Hollywood. David was a hard worker and could always tell a funny story about his dog grooming days and the movie stars.
David was charismatic and fearless in everything he did. In 1979 he read an article in the LA Times about Jackson, WY being a great place to live so he packed up his 3 young boys, Jody, Matt, and Jeff, and headed to Wyoming. He embraced the lifestyle and purchased a ranch with horses, skied in the winter, and enjoyed the Snake River, Palisades and Jackson Lake in the summers. He started his own dog grooming business among other businesses, including the Jackson Hole Attraction Menu. In 1985 he purchased Teton Expeditions and created Jackson Hole Whitewater which became one of his passions for the next 38 years. It fit him perfectly with his friendly demeanor, adventurous spirit, and entrepreneurial traits. In the fall of 2016 he purchased Barker Ewing Whitewater and eventually merged the whitewater rafting companies to become JHWW. He was known as a kind and generous boss and mentor, made many life long friends, and touched so many lives in the community. Many describe him as a Jackson Hole Legend.
Once his boys graduated high school, David began splitting his time between his two favorite places, Jackson, WY in the summer and Cayucos, CA in the winter. He worked long hours in the summer running JHWW and could be found answering the phones all winter in CA. He was even known to facetime guests during bookings to show them how beautiful Cayucos was.
David met his wife, Stephanie in Jackson in 1995, she was the love of his life. She was by his side through his best years, helping run JHWW and the most difficult ones after he suffered a stroke in 2018. David and Stephanie were known to be wonderful hostesses, they loved entertaining family, friends, and colleagues (who were friends) at their infamous house in Jackson where everyone was welcome and treated like family.
David loved Stephanie's daughter, Hannah like his own and helped raise her in Jackson and Cayucos.
David had a passion for collecting cars and sailing his Beneteau off the coast of Cayucos, he was a member of the Morro Bay Yacht Club. He also loved dogs and had many over the years, English Mastiffs were his favorite and the mascot of JHWW. His other passion was laughing and spending time with family and friends while grilling out or over a nice dinner. He will always be remembered for his humor, larger than life personality, and love for everyone he met. He was never afraid to express his love and appreciation for those he cared about, especially his wife and family.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Lynn Tibbitts; David is survived by his wife, Stephanie Heigel-Tibbitts; sons Jody Tibbitts (Amie), Matthew Tibbitts, and Jeffrey Tibbitts (Cynthia); stepdaughter Hannah Poindexter Ellis (Aurthur); sister Christy Dahl (Tom ); niece Natasha (Mike); nephew Cody (Ashley)Sumen; and 7 grandchildren Cole Tibbitts, Ella Tibbitts, Aubrie Tibbitts, Callie Tibbitts, Tobie Tibbitts, Griffin Tibbitts, and Ace Ellis.
David was a bright light in the world, he made life fun and exciting for all those around him. He never took life too serious. He was such a special man to everyone he met and will be missed very much. The family would like to thank all who helped care for him over the last 5 years, particularly Richie, Mario, and Nickie.
A private family service was held at Cayucos Cemetery on June 14, 2023