Lyle Cobb Obituary

Lyle Cobb died on December 7th, 2006 in Maui, Hawaii. It was on Maui's Northwest coast where he had spent many sunsets with his beloved late wife, Virginia, in their winter home. He is survived by three sisters, Polly, Erma, and Dell, his two sons, Tom and Tim, his daughters-in-law, Jacqueline and Mary, and his five grandchildren: Tom, Michael, Brian, Cari, and Christopher. Born on May 25, 1924 in Lauderdale, Mississippi, Lyle was one of ten children. In 1938, his father, suffering from tuberculosis, packed his wife and children into one car and headed for Manitou Springs, which was then a major health destination, world-renowned for its dry mountain air and medicinal waters. Sadly, his father died a year later, and Lyle dropped out of school after the ninth grade to help support a very large family. Odd jobs, paper routes, and mowed lawns filled his days. When he was older, he drove a truck for the Pepsi Cola Bottling Company. A keen and successful work ethic began early, and only deepened throughout his happy and very active life. In World War II, Lyle served in the United States Navy, traveling throughout the Pacific Ocean. After four years, he was discharged, and the Navy offered to teach him a trade, and eventually he chose plumbing. He also chose to marry his neighbor, Virginia, who was his loving and devoted (if not irreverent) wife of 57 years. He worked for Benbow Plumbing Company, received his master plumbing license, and eventually became a partner. In 1969, he struck out on his own, and started Cobb Plumbing and Heating, which, with his two sons' dedicated work, grew into Cobb Mechanical Contractors. For nearly three decades, he served on the Board of Directors of United Bank, Norwest Bank, and Wells Fargo Bank in Colorado Springs. Lyle and Virginia were deeply dedicated to the happiness and success of their children and grandchildren. By all accounts, that commitment was met with splendid results: much of the family continues Lyle's legacy by working in the family business, but a few other occupations have mixed things up, and now there's a sports writer, a university professor, and a manager of a New York café to make holiday meals interesting. Lyle would spend much of his retirement indulging his great passion for golf. Countless rounds at the Broadmoor Golf Club with his good friends Bruce Hughes, Clarence Skaggs, W. A. Wills, and Bob Penkhus (who always endured a great deal of teasing), lunches at the El Paso Club, and always a few glasses of cabernet were treasured parts of his routine in Colorado Springs. In Maui, golf with his buddies Bob Fuson, Joe Planos, Billy Rapaport and Tom Casey came before dinners at the Pineapple Grill, the Plantation Golf Club, Kimo's, and Castaways. A standing Saturday tee time with his grandson, Tom, was a particular pleasure. Often on the deck of his Maui home, a very playful and loving Lyle would tell his grandchildren that if they wanted a sunny and warm tomorrow, they would have to blow into a conch shell as the sun set over the waters. Even though the loud noise sometimes irritated his wife, many Hawaiian evenings featured Lyle with some combination of Tom, Michael, Brian, Cari, and Christopher blowing into a shell to say goodnight to the sun, in hopes of another beautiful day. It's now our turn to raise that shell once more and say goodnight to Lyle-- remembering the love, humor, generosity, optimism, and goodness he has brought, and will bring, to our tomorrows. Memorial Services will be held at 1p.m. this Saturday, December 16th, at Grace Church and St. Stephen's, 601 North Tejon St., Colorado Springs, Colorado. Memorial contributions: Pikes Peak Hospice, 825 Pikes Peak Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903; or the Evans Scholars Foundation, 1 Briar Road, Golf, IL 60029.