Robert Eugene Vale

Robert (Bob) Eugene Vale was born on August 3, 1952 in Houston, Texas. He lived in Houston with his parents Eugene Milton Vale and Jean Luth Vale, and his sister Laura until he was three when they moved to New Rochelle, New York where his grandparents George and Ada lived. As a boy, Bob loved to spend time with his many friends, play with trucks and cars, and build things. He was especially close to his Nana and loved going on errands with her and helping her bake pies.

Bob’s family moved to Lakewood, California in 1961 where he discovered a passion and love that would last for his entire lifetime—surfing. He surfed, read surfing magazines and he made many lifelong friends that he surfed with including Randy Nordyke who became his best friend and surfing buddy for life. He even designed and made his own surfboards—an artistic, engineering endeavor that would influence both his art and his career. He then moved to Morro Bay and lived there while he attended college (which he chose because there were good waves!).

He started his career designing boats, but he eventually settled as an engineer at Northrop Grumman where he was involved for over 30 years with fabrication, design and development of composite tooling. He also led many development tooling projects while being a Composite Manufacturing Engineer and Manufacturing Technology Engineer on programs such as the YF-23, FA-18 C/D, Super Hornet E/F, Advanced Projects, and the F-35 program.

As a lifelong surfer, his dream was to live and own a home in Huntington Beach, and he realized that dream in 2005. From that point, he lived his ideal life next to the beach with his wife of 33 years - Deanna Vale. They spent their time riding their tandem bike to the beach, taking care of their beautiful home, three pets and many plants, going on vacations together, trying new food, and spending time with their grandchildren. With the beach practically in their backyard, much of his time was spent surfing, planning on surfing, or determining the next time he could go surfing. Whenever his neighbors asked him how his day was, he would always reply, “Just another day in paradise!”

Bob always took care of their home, and he was a loving partner. Even though he complained about how many plants his wife picked up for the home, he was always willing to water and transplant them. If there was something in the house that needed fixing, he would not only take care of it, but he would improve it with his artistry and craftsmanship. Their home is surrounded by memories of him: the palm trees he loved and planted since they moved into their home, his artwork, and his infinite kindness. The fifth child in their marriage was his 1972 red and white Volkswagen camper bus that was cared for and maintained lovingly.

An active and involved grandaddy, he loved his grandchildren and enjoyed attending their activities whether it be a recital, game, Grandparent’s Day, or school event. Many hours with the grandchildren were spent in his garage making anything from ceramic animals to pinch pots and piggy banks. He also shared his passion for the beach with them by making drip castles, playing in the water, and going on bike rides.

A prolific artist, his many wonderful ceramics, sculptures, paintings, and wood workings bless the homes of many of his family and friends and will be appreciated for generations to come. His work is inspired by the things he loves—featuring oceans, waves, beaches, surfing, and a beach-themed color palette. Perhaps his most treasured piece is a bassinet that he created in 1977 for his children, their children, and any future generations. It has now held each of his daughters and his daughter’s children as well. His other works are too numerous to list fully, but he has made vases, dishes, lamps, bowls, cups, a fountain, and many more. His years of experience as an Aerospace Development Engineer helped him create beautiful, ocean-themed sculptures. Bob used a variety of both ancient and advanced modern hi-tech materials including ceramics, epoxy, fiberglass, foam and carbon fiber in his work.

He especially enjoyed sweets, and he shared this love with his daughters by taking them out for ice cream, donuts, and chocolate chip cookies. When asked what he wanted for dessert, his motto was always, “anything with chocolate!”.

Bob was always the light of any room he was in; his sense of humor and practical jokes put a smile on everyone’s faces. Once, he made a purposefully terrible dinner by throwing leftovers into a casserole dish and burning it. His daughters were in on the joke, and when he served it to his family, his daughters all exclaimed about how great the dinner was while his wife was left confused. His wife, not wanting to make him feel bad, said that the dinner wasn’t too bad, but then everyone laughed and let her in on the joke.

Bob always saw the good in everyone and he never had a mean word to say about anyone. One of his favorite phrases that he constantly reiterated to his daughters, “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” perfectly exemplified his view. His boundless love was shared with his many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. He was a friend to all including many of his Northrop-Grumman and other aerospace coworkers, neighbors, local artists, and fellow surfers.

Bob passed away on August 28th, 2022 from complications after cardiac surgery. He was a beloved brother, husband, dad, granddaddy, uncle, and cousin, and he will be remembered most for his kindness, warmth, and his loving spirit.

He is survived and loved deeply by his wife (Deanna), his sister (Laura), his four daughters (Kerry, Kelly, Michelle, and Lyndsie), his sons-in-law (Robert, Mike, Chris, and soon to be Kiyoshi), his brothers-in-law and sister-in-law (Greg, Richard, and Yafa), his many nieces and nephews, his cousins, and his eight grandchildren (Robby, Rocco, Ryder, Savannah, Lucas, Reese, Reagan, and Oliver).

His graveside Celebration of Life memorial is to be held on September 23rd, 2022 at 9:30 in the morning at Westminster Memorial Park and Mortuary (14801 Beach Blvd, Westminster, CA 92683). An art show reception will immediately follow the memorial, and we will display some of our favorite sculptures, vases, and dinnerware that Bob created. Refreshments will also be available. The attire for the memorial will be what Bob would wear (casual, tropical clothing, Hawaiian shirts, and beach colors like blue, light brown, and green).

A separate paddle out memorial will also be held on October 7th at 10:00 in the morning at the Bolsa Chica - Lifeguard Tower T27 in Huntington Beach. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Surfrider Foundation.