Robert V. “Bob” Deacon, a dear man who said much by saying little, died March 6 in St. Petersburg, Fla. He was 69. When Bob was 17, he met 16-year-old Debby Churuti at a friend’s house.
She didn’t see him again for several months, but when he next saw her at a dance, that was it. “Needless to say, the guy I came with went home alone,” Debby said. “But, because I came home with a different guy, I got in a whole lot of trouble and put on restriction.
Bob kept calling and calling. He called every day. My dad finally said, ‘Either answer the phone or tell him to shove off.
’ We have been together ever since”. They were about to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary with a cruise. “It was that rare, once in a lifetime, forever and always love.
That is all I can say,” she said. She was Italian and Irish, so if something got under her skin, it was no secret. “Well, one day, I was fit to be tied,” she remembered.
“He’d finally had enough of me ranting and that made him real mad. He said, ‘Oh, come on, Deb. ’ That was the worst thing he ever said to me.
That was him being real mad”. Once Bob faced health challenges later in life, Debby started calling him “Mr. Crankypants” because, when he didn’t feel well, “He was like any other guy. Cranky.
I’d offer to help him and it was, ‘No, I’ve got it,’ or ‘No, if I need anything, I’ll ask you. ’ So I called him Mr. Crankypants. When he was in the hospital last year, he became Captain Crankypants”.
Cranky or not, he was always the kindest person alive. “Everything he did or said was just kind. He was just good,” Debby said.
“He was just always there. If I was upset, he was there. If I was happy, he was there.
He was so easygoing”. Bob never said much, but he never had to, said his daughter, Marybeth Rubinacci. “Most of the time, it was enough to be in his presence and be around him,” she said.
“When he sat next to you, he didn’t need to say much. You just felt very loved, content, happy being around him. My kids felt the same way.
If he loved you, you knew it. If he didn’t, you probably didn’t know it”. She said his example was his legacy.
“He taught me how to recognize a good man, a good husband and a good father by his example,” she said. I met my husband at 17, married him at 22 and we’ve been married for 25. I never, for one minute, thought I’d made the wrong choice.
I knew that because of my father. He wasn’t a perfect man, but he loved me and he loved my mother with everything. He was a genuinely good man.
That’s his legacy”. Bob loved fishing, loved his boat and loved being out on the water. Once he retired, Debby continued working and he’d pick her up on a dock after she got done.
They’d head out into the bay for dinner and a sunset. “We’d bring our fishing poles and, if we didn’t catch anything, so what? ” He was a fan of every sport and played softball for much of his life.
Bob was born Sept. 18, 1949 in Rochester, NY. He lived in Bergen, NY until his family moved to St. Petersburg in1959.
He graduated from Northeast High School, then served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War, then served in the Naval Reserves another eight years. After that, he began a 30-year career with General Telephone Company/Verizon until he retired in 2005. Bob was predeceased by his Father, Robert and Mother, Janece.
He is survived by his wife Deborah (“Debby”), daughter, Marybeth Deacon Rubinacci, (Andrew), two grandsons, Nicolas and Drew Rubinacci. One brother, Ken Deacon, (Nadine), and three sisters, Lorraine Bennett, Penny Hawkins, (Mark), Donna Martin, (Randy). There will be a gathering of family and friends at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation to either the American Heart Association, Suncoast Hospice or the charity of your choice. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Robert V Deacon please visit our Sympathy Store.
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