April
24,
1936
24,
1936
April
02,
2015
02,
2015
Hugh Gribben Jr. was born in Gary, Indiana April 24, 1936 to the late Hugh Gribben Sr. and Marjorie Gribben. Hugh was the oldest of nine children and was an alterboy when he was growing up. The family moved to Downey, California where he attended Fullerton High School and was on the water polo team and played football. He was also active in the Boy Scouts and attained the rank of Eagle. He worked for Disneyland at opening day piloting one of the Jungle River Boat Rides boats. One of Hugh’s childhood dreams was flying and he got his recreational pilot’s license while he lived in Downey, routinely flying from Los Angeles to Catalina Island with his favorite plane, a Cessna 172 and revving the engine when he flew over his parent’s house. He was drafted into the Army and stationed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland where he met his future wife, Ella Lou Gribben. Hugh and Ella Lou were married on base at Aberdeen and settled into an apartment in College Park where they helped Ella Lou’s father with his meat packing business while Hugh attended classes at the University of Maryland. He also volunteered at the College Park Airport. It was at the apartment where he built his first sailboat with permission from the landlord to build the boat in the apartment parking lot. He later received his Industrial Engineering degree attending night school at Johns Hopkins University. Hugh and Ella Lou had two children, Chip and Mindy. The family moved to the Hollywood section of College Park where Hugh was first employed at WR Grace, then Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, and later as an Industrial Engineer for the US Postal Service. They relocated to Beltsville and Hugh continued to work for the US Postal Service until his retirement. Hugh continued to be active in scouting and served for over 50 years. He was Scoutmaster of Troop 1274 in Beltsville and was awarded the Silver Beaver which is the highest award for adult leadership. He volunteered each Fall at Goshen Scout Camp to do repairs, maintenance and to help winterize the camp. Hugh became interested in flying again, renewed his pilot’s license and flew recreationally out of Tipton Airport near Fort Meade and also did volunteer work at the airport. He also enjoyed woodworking and was often found in his basement workshop building small model boats and wooden creations for neighbors and friends. After his retirement, he worked part-time for Home Depot designing kitchen installations. Hugh and Ella Lou were loyal Maryland Terps fans and held season tickets for many seasons. They were married for over 50 years. Hugh was also active as a volunteer with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the American Legion in Greenbelt, Beltsville Young at Heart, and Holy Redeemer Church in College Park.
Hugh is survived by his son, Chip (Monica) Gribben of Laurel, Maryland and daughter, Mindy (Rick) Miller of Catonsville, Maryland; grandchildren Jenny and Jake Gribben, and Meredith, Adam, and Abby Miller. He is also survived by his brothers Ralph Gribben of Las Vegas, Nevada and Walt Gribben of Irvine, California; sisters Marjorie DiMaggio of Clifton Park, New York, Ramona McNabb of Idyllwild, California, and June Hamblin of Felton, California; and many loving nieces and nephews. His sisters Julie Smith, Alice Watson, and Rosemary Monte preceded him in death.
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