Ronald Loring Tarbox Jr. died peacefully at his home in San Diego, Cal., on Sept. 28. Ron, the son of Ronald Loring and Thea Hamlin Tarbox, was born in Quincy, Mass. on Sept. 22, 1927. He attended Quincy schools, graduated from Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., in 1946, and from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point, N.Y. in 1950. In this Ron was following in the Tarbox family tradition, as his father had sailed as an engineer and one of his grandfathers had been an officer on sailing ships.
After graduating from Kings Point, Ron sailed briefly as a licensed engineering officer before starting active Naval duty during the Korean War. After his initial active Naval service he was a Loss Prevention Engineer with Hardware Mutual Ins. Co, in Boston, but returned to active Naval duty in 1957. During his Navy service Ron served as an officer on different surface ships, and spent a year in Vietnam as the Operations Officer for what was then the Military Sea Transport Service (MSTS).
Retiring from the U.S, Navy in 1970, Ron received a Masters Degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University the same year. Initially employed as a Community Development Specialist with the city of San Diego, Cal., Ron joined the County of San Diego District Attorney’s Office in 1971 in a non-legal administrative capacity and retired as the chief of administration for the DA’s office in 1982.
Ron married Cora Jean Sybenga of Fairfax, Cal. on Sept. 27, 1950. Following his retirement, they split their time between their home in San Diego and their 230-year old cape on the Tarbox family property in Westport Island. They were very active in community affairs, from the Westport Community Association, to the volunteer fire department, to their local church. Ron took a special interest in mapping and restoring the old cemeteries on Westport Island. He helped Cora, his wife, with her historical research on the area.
Ron was a life member of the Marine Maritime Museum, the Military Officers Association of America, and the U.S. Naval Institute. Always active in the alumni affairs of the U.S.M.M. Academy, he was a former Southwest Regional Vice President and the first recipient in his class to receive the Meritorious Alumni Service Award. Ron loved sailing, and was a former secretary of the San Diego Naval Sailing Club. He was a lifelong Mason, a member of the Weymouth, Mass. United Masonic Lodge and the Lincoln Lodge, No. 3, Wiscasset. His love of the maritime world continued in his role as a Docent at the San Diego Maritime Museum and as a Volunteer Staff member at the Maine Maritime Museum, Bath.
Besides his wife Cora, he leaves a son, Jeffery Hamlin Tarbox of Washington, D.C., and Westport Island; daughter, Robin Lois Tarbox-Roland of El Cajon, Cal., son-in-law Robert Roland, and four granddaughters, Jessica, Lindsey, Amelia and Alissa.
Services in San Diego will be announced at a later date. Interment of ashes will be in the family cemetery on Westport Island. In lieu of flowers it is requested that donations in his memory be sent to the Treasurer, Westport Community Association, Westport, ME 04578, for the support of the Westport Community Church. A memorial service will be held next summer in Maine.
