Frank B. Dibble

EXETER — Frank B. Dibble, 92, of Langdon Place, 17 Hampton Road, died Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2007.

Mr. Dibble was a surveyor and engineer for LaGrange Gold Dredging Company prior to attending M.I.T., and after was chosen to join the Radiation Laboratory under Alfred Loomis, in lieu of military service, where he was involved in the development of high frequency radiation and RADAR applications. He subsequently held management engineering positions with Ampro Corp., Thomas Edison Industries and The Grass Instrument Company.

He is survived by one daughter, Gloria Dibble Pond of Woodbury, Conn.; one son, Frank Burton Dibble Jr., M.D., of Exeter; two grandchildren, Burton Z. Dibble of Boulder, Colo., and Maj. Aaron Dibble of Deatsville, Ala.; four great-grandchildren Caroline Pond of Andover, Jamie Robertson, of Muncie, Ind., Maia Dibble of Deatsville and Selah Dibble of Boulder; two brothers, one sister, and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by one grandchild, Scott Pond.

WE REMEMBER: He was born July 29, 1915, in Springfield, Mass., the oldest of five children of Wallace Edwin and Edith Fitzgerald Dibble and had resided at Langdon Place for nearly 10 years.

He was a 1936 graduate of Sacramento Junior College and a 1943 graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology with degrees in civil and mechanical engineering. At M.I.T. he was a member of the Honors Group in engineering and the Sigma Xi Honors Fraternity.

He was widowed in October 1978 after 47 years of marriage to his first wife, Joyce Rickabaugh Dibble, of Kelseyville, CA. He married Mary Cameron of Woodsville in 1979, and was divorced in 1980. He married Mary Edsall Muther in 1981 and was widowed again in 1993.

Following retirement, he enjoyed a second career developing and selling real estate in the Woodsville and Glastonbury, Conn., areas. He later moved back to New Hampshire to be near family and has enjoyed the company, friendship, and caring support of the residents and staff of Langdon Place of Exeter during his last years.

Mr. Dibble was an Eagle Scout and a Sea Scout. He had an ongoing interest in the outdoors and involved his family in camping and fishing and other outdoor activities. He was active in the Audubon Society, the Lions, where he was a Melvin Jones Fellow, and the Masons. He was a man of great faith, most recently being active in the Christian Science Church with his wife, Mary.

His most prominent characteristic was his devotion to his close and more distant family, and his success in his commitment to be a good provider for his family, in whom he took great pride. He is beloved and will be greatly missed.

SERVICES: There are no calling hours. A memorial service will be held Sunday, Jan. 27, at 3:30 p.m. at Langdon Place of Exeter, 17 Hampton Road, Exeter. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Scott Pond Endowment at Naugatuck Valley Community College, 750 Chase Place, Waterbury CT 06708 (will be matched by the State of Connecticut) or The Bronia Dibble Fund at The Greater Picataqua Community Foundation, 446 Market Street, Portsmouth NH 03801. Arrangements are by the Brewitt Funeral Home, Exeter. To sign an on-line guest book, visit www.brewittfuneralhome.com