Richard J. Bebble

Richard Joseph Bebble, 88 of Gaylord, passed away Wednesday, July 26, 2023 at home. Born in Elmira, New York on May 7, 1935, he was the son of George and Gertrude (Antes) Bebble.

On August 24, 1957 in Cheboygan, he married the love of his life, Sandra McDonald. Richard proudly served his country for 26 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, traveling all over the United States with a young family. Throughout their 65+ years of married life, they raised eight wonderful children and built a beautiful life of love, commitment, faith and memories together.

The most important things in his life were his love of God, family, baseball, sending and receiving postcards and prayer books, reading the newspapers, going to several different circuses, parades and plays. He was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and proud of his Irish heritage. For many years he worked at Secure Data and the Holiday Inn.

With the importance of his faith, he supported catholic education and sacrificed to send his children there, no matter the cost.  Richard and Sandy would pray the Rosary and the Divine Chaplet on a daily basis together. A room in the house was made into his own chapel, with holy water. He spent many hours in there to pray and rest.

His son-in-law, Mitch, had the honor of serving Eucharist each Sunday to Richard and Sandy, which Richard would say was the highlight of his day.  He loved receiving two copies of the bulletin and would read from cover to cover multiple times.

He was an avid sports fan, especially watching his grandchildren play.  He even earned the title of “St. Mary Fan of the Year” for his enthusiasm, dedication, and support of athletics.  He loved the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers and would always wear the color of the team playing.

A few lessons he taught us that we will hold onto: Material things don’t matter, always say please and thank you, people matter and always leave them laughing when you say goodbye. He never met a stranger – He was able to connect with each and every person whether it was family or others.

He is survived by his loving wife, Sandy, of 65 years; six children, Barb (Mark) Garneau of Traverse City, George (Dianne) Bebble of Mesa, AZ, Joan (Rick) Whipple of Chelmsford, MA, Kim (Dan) Smith of Gaylord, Karen (Mitch) Borowiak of Gaylord, Dave (Regan) Bebble of Gaylord; daughter-in-law, Kim Bebble of Gaylord; 22 grandchildren, 39 great-grandchildren; and a sister, Jean Liddy of Naperville, IL.

He was preceded in death by his parents; two children, Lynne Bebble in 1964 and Daniel Bebble in 2006; a grandson, Matthew Borowiak Van Hoff in 2020 and three sisters, Virginia Borges, Kathryn Lee and Elizabeth Oliveira.

The family will visit with friends from 4:00 - 7:00 PM on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at Gaylord Community Funeral Home & Cremation Service where the rosary will be recited at 6:30 PM.  A Mass of Christian Burial will take place at 11:00 AM Thursday, August 3, 2023, at St. Mary Cathedral where visitation will begin at 10:00 AM. Military Honors will follow.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to St. Mary Cathedral School.

The funeral will be livestreamed: https://www.stmarycathedral.org/

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