Oliver Dibble,
longtime Sun Valley
official, dies
By GREGORY
FOLEY
Express Staff Writer
Longtime
Wood River Valley resident and Sun Valley city official Oliver Dibble
died July 4 at Magic Valley Regional Medical Center in Twin Falls.
Dibble, 77, suffered respiratory failure brought on by lung disease and
lung cancer.
A
resident of Hailey, Dibble had previously lived in Sun Valley for 35
years, where he worked as the city’s Planning and Zoning Board
administrator, fire chief and chief building inspector.
Raised in
California, he moved to Idaho in 1965. He met his wife, Roberta Corby,
in Sun Valley, and the couple married in 1968. Corby Dibble—who
retained her maiden name as her first name—said Monday that Dibble had
a genuine love of the Wood River Valley and its residents. "He was
just a very special person, and he loved the Wood River Valley,"
she said. "He died with a great deal of dignity, just as he lived
his life."
Upon his
arrival in Idaho, Dibble worked as a carpenter and contractor. He later
worked as administrator of the Sun Valley Planning and Zoning Commission
in the late 1960s and early 1970s before becoming the city’s fire
chief.
Sun
Valley Fire Chief Jeff Carnes was hired by Dibble in 1973. "He made
me captain and then assistant chief," he said. "He gave me
some good direction."
Carnes
said that the two men in the late 1970s split duties of running the
department, with Dibble handling the administrative tasks while he
himself managed operations. "He was a great guy to work with,"
Carnes said. "Sometimes people thought he was a little too tough,
but he really knew how to treat people well."
Carnes
said that Dibble was a key figure in Sun Valley’s development as a
city, and helped compose the city’s codes and ordinances in its early
phases. The fire chief added that Dibble enjoyed hosting parties and
barbecues for friends and co-workers.
Carnes
said that he will remember Dibble as he continues his work for the city.
"Any individual that wants to get into emergency services stands
out in my mind," he said. "I’m still kind of in shock that
he passed away."
Dibble
also served as the city’s chief building inspector until his
retirement in 1991.
Jim
McGlaughlin, president of the Sun Valley P&Z, said that Dibble made
countless contributions to the city as its building inspector and
planning administrator.
"He
was an invaluable resource for those of us on the commission," he
said. "He knew the history of all the projects and properties in
Sun Valley."
McGlaughlin
noted that Dibble was not afraid to challenge development projects that
did not conform to city standards. "He wasn’t afraid to give his
opinion," he said. "He was the devil’s advocate on a lot of
the zoning issues. Sun Valley was his home, and he took it very
personally."
Sun
Valley resident Joe Humphrey, a longtime friend and co-worker of Dibble,
also said that Dibble was a primary figure in the early development of
the city’s zoning and building regulations. "He was one of the
team in the early days," he said. "He was missed when he
left."
Humphrey
noted that Dibble took his position as building inspector very
seriously. "He was very on top of things."
He added
that Dibble "got along with most people, but contractors sometimes
had problems with him."
Dibble
for many years was an active member of the Ketchum-Sun Valley Rotary
Club and Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church in Ketchum
He was
given special mention at Masses last weekend at Our Lady of the Snows,
and will be honored in a memorial service at the church on Sept. 7.
An
obituary appears on Page A31 of the printed edition of the July 17, 2002
Idaho Mountain Express.