Bobby Dean Wilburn

Bristol, VA – Bobby Dean Wilburn, age 87, passed away on Tuesday May 13, 2014, at the Wellmont Hospice House in Bristol, TN. Mr. Wilburn was born in West Frankfort, IL to the late Claude and Aline Karnes Wilburn. He is also preceded in death by his step-mother, Ruth Wilburn, who helped raise him after his mother passed when he was two years old. Bobby was a U.S. Army Veteran and served in Germany during the occupation immediately following WWII. He and his wife moved to Grundy, VA in 1968, to Lebanon, VA in 1977, and to Bristol, VA in 2003. He worked as a construction project manager for Peter-Kiewit Construction Company for over 20 years. Bobby loved his family, golf, and spending time with his wife during the winters in Arcadia, FL. He leaves behind to cherish his memory his wife of 65 years, Lila Ruth Gibson Wilburn; two sons, David Paul Wilburn and wife JoRita of Lebanon, VA, and Robert Dean Wilburn of Johnson City, TN; two daughters, Aline Ricks and husband Kevin of Duluth, GA, and Terri Wilburn and husband Matt Bly of Charlotte, NC; one sister, Gloria Brown of Fairview, TN; grandchildren, Lacey Ricks and Dillon Wilburn; and one great-grandchild, Colton Wilburn. The funeral service for Bobby Wilburn will be held at 2:00 p.m. Thursday, May 15, 2014, at the Forest Hills Chapel of Farris Funeral Service, 19415 Lee Hwy., Abingdon, VA, with Rev. John E. Massey, Jr. officiating. Interment will follow in Forest Hills Memory Gardens with Kevin Ricks, Robert Wilburn, David Wilburn, Dillon Wilburn, Mark Mitchell, and Tom Watson serving as pallbearers. Anthony McFadden will be an honorary pallbearer. Military Rites will be conducted by the Virginia National Guard. Visitation with the family will be held from 12-2p.m. Thursday at the Forest Hills Chapel just prior to the service. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made in Mr. Wilburn’s name to the Abingdon Lions Club. Those wishing to express sympathy online may do so by visiting www.farrisfuneralservice.com and signing the online guest register. The Wilburn family is being cared for by Farris Cremation and Funeral Center, 19415 Lee Highway, Abingdon, VA 24210, (276) 623-2700.