Robert W. “Bob” Cauble passed away at the age of 93 on 27 October 2019, at his residence in Dilworth, where he lived for 55 years. Bob was predeceased by his wife of nearly 72 years, Rebecca Correll Cauble; his adoptive parents, Wallace Hinkle and Mary Jones Cauble; and his biological parents, Nelson Duncan and Evelyn Lashbrook Bland. He is survived by his seven children: Pamela Cauble of Asheville, NC, Patrick Correll Cauble Lashbrook (Debby) of Johnson City, TN, Trish Rupert of Charlotte, NC, Kevin Cauble (Kay) of Concord, NC, Gary Cauble of Belmont, NC, Kathleen Cauble McDermott of Charlotte, NC, and Rebecca “Kitty” Cauble Smith (Michael) of Charlotte, NC. He is also survived by three siblings, Patricia Marsh of Louisville, KY, Sterling Cauble (Norma) of Batesville, IN and Pearl Bradley (Ralph) of Hurst, TX; plus twelve grandchildren; ten great-grandchildren; and a host of nieces and nephews. At the time of his death he was the oldest person in any of the families he was a part of, biological or adoptive.
Bob was born on 7 February 1926 in Elizabethtown, KY, to Nelson and Evelyn Bland and given the name Charles Layman Bland. Due to unfortunate circumstances and with heavy hearts, they very sadly decided to leave him on the doorstep of Reverend Wallace and Mary Cauble in Louisville when he was a month old. He was pronounced a “gift from God” and received exuberantly by the Cauble family.
Before he was a year old he was adopted by the Caubles and his official birthday was changed to 2 February 1926. Wallace Cauble was a minister and the family moved a lot. As a result, in twelve years of school, Bob attended 14 different schools in Kentucky, Indiana, Philadelphia, PA and Toronto, Canada. Bob was most proud of graduating from Louisville Male High School where he was a 1st Lt. in the ROTC Band. While he didn’t make the Honor Roll, he liked to say that he was in the third of his class. At age 17 Bob joined the Navy in January of 1944. After Boot Camp he was sent to Sonar School and was assigned to the sub-chaser, USPC1401 in the Pacific and was discharged in May of 1946, as a 2nd Class Petty Officer. In August of 1946 he met Rebecca Ruth Correll and they were married a year later on 23 August 1947. As time passed and the children kept coming, Bob always had at least two jobs. He started with Eastern Air Lines in 1946 in Ramp Services, then the Ticket Counter, then Computer Sciences and finally as the #1 Reservations Agent in Charlotte. He retired in 1983 with almost 40 years of service. During that time he served in Louisville, KY, Columbus, OH and Charlotte, NC.
There were many things he enjoyed doing: fixing things, (anything!), playing his trumpet, marching with the band at Male High, learning to fly, (in his younger days, for sure), dabbling in photography, bowling, genealogy research, playing cribbage, learning sign language, being part of the camera crew at Hickory Grove Church, reading a good mystery or historical novel, watching football, writing down stories about what he considered to be a very happy childhood, sharing magic tricks and jokes with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, shooting pool at Dilworth Billiards, playing Trivia, meeting up with his EAL friends twice a month, donating his blood platelets at the Red Cross, grocery shopping and running errands, just to name a few. No matter where he went, he made a point of having a good time. He refused to use any self-serve checkout line. He wanted to talk to the cashiers and not be in a big hurry!
He was known for his easy conversation and good sense of humor. He didn’t give much advice but he did claim to have the secret to a happy life in three simple steps. Laugh a lot. Be flexible. Keep your expectations in check. It worked for him.
The service to honor Bob’s life will be held at Hickory Grove Baptist Church on Saturday, November 2, at 1:00 pm. The family will receive friends following the service. Interment with Military Honors will take place that morning at 11:30 am at Magnolia Gardens Cemetery at Calvary Church, 5801 Pineville-Matthews Rd., Charlotte.
In lieu of flowers, Bob and his family would be pleased to have donations made to the Hospice & Palliative Care at www.hpccr.org or to Foundation Fighting Blindness at www.fightingblindness.org.
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