Rudolf John Dobeck

Rudolf John Dobeck, 90, retired retail executive, died of Parkinson’s Disease at his home in Arlington, Virginia. He had lived with his wife Daisy at The Jefferson, a retirement community in Arlington since 1994. Mr. Dobeck served in the Army during World War II and was part of the initial occupation forces in Japan in the summer and fall of 1945. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Denver in Denver, Colorado and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati, Ohio. He taught high school and college for four years and was recruited in 1950 by James Cash Penney, founder of the JC Penney Company, while teaching high school. Mr. Penney visited the school to speak to the students. Mr. Penney introduced many young people to retailing through his biography, Main Street Merchant, a classic story about Penney’s life and practice of Christian living as a retail businessman. Mr. Dobeck was impressed with Mr. Penney’s overall Christian philosophy and also his practice of sharing of one-third of the net profit of either the company at headquarters or the retail unit in which the associates worked. Mr. Dobeck spent 36 years as a retail executive with JC Penney Co and Associated Dry Goods in New York, NY, and with Federated Department Stores in Cincinnati, Ohio. He retired while at Filene’s (May Co.) in Boston, MA in 1991. He was in corporate retail management, ending his career excelling as a specialist in properties including all facets of maintenance, remodeling, expansions, and new store building development. He was part of the Penney team that developed the mass merchandise stores named “The Treasury,” a precursor to other major discount stores. The son of a German Congregational minister, Mr. Dobeck was a lifetime member of the Congregational Church and a member of Rock Spring United Church of Christ in Arlington, Virginia. He grew up in eastern Montana in the farm community of Plevna in Fallon Country. His parents served as ministers of three rural Congregational Churches of German and Russian immigrants. He was predeceased by his parents Reverend Robert and Dorothea Rall Dobeck and siblings Emil, Robert, Vernon, and Doris. Survivors include his beloved wife of 63 years, Daisy Esther Dickenson, of Arlington, a son, Brad, and daughter in law Jessie-Kay Weili Cheng of Arlington, and two daughters, Victoria Davey and husband, Richard, of Bethesda, MD and Peggy Pearson and husband Neil of Champaign, IL. His six grandchildren are Dylan Frances Davey, Stephen Cheng Dobeck, Carl William Pearson, Neil David Pearson, Jr., Elizabeth Victoria Pearson, and Emma Leigh Davey. He is also survived by two brothers: Benjamin and his wife, Ingrid Dobeck, of Kingsport, Tennessee, and Helmut Richard (Mac) Dobeck of Las Vegas, Nevada and Terra Alta, West Virginia and 23 nieces and nephews. A memorial service will take place on March 19, 2016 at 2 pm at The Jefferson, 900 North Taylor Street, Arlington, Virginia. His remains will be inurned at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family would welcome donations to the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area at www.parkinsonfoundation.org or PFNCA, 7700 Leesburg Pike, Suite 208, Falls Church, VA 22043.