Peter Bibbes

Peter George Bibbes
June 10, 1931 - February 9, 2022
Peter George Bibbes, 90, of San Mateo passed away peacefully at his home on February 9, 2022.

Born in Princeton, New Jersey on June 10, 1931, to first generation Greek immigrants George and Zoe (Moshogianedis) Bibbes, Pete was a true representative of the "American Dream." After graduating from Princeton University in 1953 with a degree in Civil Engineering, he went on to earn two master's degrees: the first in Structural Engineering from Columbia University, and the second in Business Administration from the University of San Francisco.

Pete was a successful structural engineer, whose 47 year career included 23 proud years (3 active and 20 reserve) as a "Seabee" in the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps, retiring with the rank of Commander. He spent many years as Vice President with the Parsons Brinckerhoff engineering firm in San Francisco, and also served as President for the San Francisco chapter of the Project Management Institute. Among his many professional accomplishments, he was a key engineer and project manager for an array of high profile projects such as the H3 tunnel in Hawaii, the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, the Los Angeles Metro, and the Crystal Springs Dam Bridge in San Mateo. Pete was also a founding contributor to the PMI "Project Management Book of Knowledge."

As one of the founding members of the Church of the Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Church in Belmont, CA, Pete was a faithful and devoted Greek Orthodox Christian. He served on the Parish Council for over 40 years, including time as Parish Council President and many years as Building Chair. Pete was instrumental in the purchase of the church property, and the design and development of the church buildings including the Church, Community Center, and Sunday School rooms. Pete was a fixture of Holy Cross's well-loved Greek Festival, spending many Labor Day weekends making Loukoumades–both guarding the recipe and keeping the pastries hot with an engineer's precision. He wrote the book on running a successful festival.

While he accomplished much professionally and in his charitable work, Pete's lifelong focus was truly family. He was a devoted husband, father and "papou," and his kindness, spark, and good-natured teasing will be missed. Throughout his life he never missed a chance to make others smile with his quick wit and quiet humor. Pete loved tennis, playing twice a week well into his eighties. And boy did he love his Princeton Tigers; his last car had orange and black interior in their honor.

Pete is survived by his dear wife of 65 years, Frances (Darzentas) Bibbes, 4 of his 5 children, George (Colleen) Bibbes, Theodore (Dawn) Bibbes, Gregory (Kirsten) Bibbes and Diana (Blaise) D'Angelo, 8 grandchildren, Dyana (Ian) Hoover, Morgan (Jonathan) Schott, David (Elizabeth) Brock, Ashley Hall, Aidan D'Angelo, Zoe D'Angelo, Basil D'Angelo, and Charlotte Bibbes, and 5 Great-Grandchildren, Lokin, Dempsey, Loukas, Christine, and Remington. Pete was preceded in death by his daughter, Christine (Stephen) Brock, in 2008.

A Trisagion service will be held Sunday, February 13, 2022 at 6pm at Sneider & Sullivan & O'Connell's Funeral Home, 977 S. El Camino Real, San Mateo, California. The funeral will be held on Monday, February 14, 2022 at 11am with a Makaria memorial luncheon to follow at the Church of the Holy Cross, 900 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont, California. Interment will follow at Skylawn Memorial Park, Hwy 92 at Skyline Blvd, San Mateo, California.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Mission Hospice (www.missionhospice.org), Church of the Holy Cross (www.goholycross.org), or Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org).