Obituary of John LeRoy Deibel

John LeRoy Deibel March 29, 1934 - July 26, 2016 John passed away on July 26th 2016 from Parkinson’s disease and associated complications. A resident of La Porte for 47 years, he was born in Winfield, Kansas on March 29th 1934 to Carl Deibel and Ernestine (Zanardi) Deibel. He grew up in Winfield and Arkansas City, Kansas where his parents were in the restaurant business. He graduated from St. Joseph’s Military Academy in Hays, Kansas in 1952. He attended Regis College in Denver, Colorado for his freshman and sophomore years of college. Then in 1954 transferred to Oklahoma A & M in Stillwater, Oklahoma where he was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity. In 1949, John met the girl of his dreams, Pat Groene, at a church function and they dated throughout their college days. Pat accepted John’s fraternity pin in 1955, an engagement soon followed in January 1956, and they would have celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on Aug 3rd. John started his career in 1956 with the Boeing Company as an industrial engineer in Wichita, Kansas, then in 1968 joined LTV Electrosystems in Greenville, Texas. In 1971 he accepted an offer from Ford Aerospace in Houston. He transferred to Rockwell-USA in 1987 and retired in 1996 after 40 years in the aerospace field. He is survived by his wife, Pat, his son Tom Deibel and his wife Dana of Deer Park, daughters Cathy Bane of La Porte, Diane Schiff and her husband Richard of Conroe. Grandchildren: Kari Weaver and husband Bryan with children Chloe and Jackson; Alex Bane and wife Tara with children Graycen, Jake, and Preslee; Jennifer Deibel; Trey Jones with wife Elise and child Willard D. Jones the 4th (Quade); Travis Jones, and Trent Jones. Cremation has taken place per his request; a memorial mass will be scheduled at a later date. His ashes will be interred in the family plot at the Holy Name Cemetery in Winfield, Kansas. Visitation will be Sunday July 31, 2016 from 2pm to 4pm at Paul U. Lee La Porte Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Friends of La Porte Library or to the National Parkinson Foundation (http://www.parkinson.org/match) or a charity of your choice.