Former resident Dale Cobb, 83, died Dec. 2 at his home in Sun City, Arizona of heart failure, reports his wife Maureen. The Cobbs retired to Haines in 1993. His health issues warranted a permanent move south in the fall of 2017.

A large, blustery man, Cobb chose Haines after decades in Anchorage for its small town values, fishing and crabbing, and natural beauty. His face was a familiar one at planning commission and assembly meetings where he spoke his mind. “Dale loved politics,” Maureen said. He was such a fan of Sarah Palin that he campaigned for her.

Llewellyn Dale Cobb was Born Oct. 7, 1935 in Helena, Montana to Dr. David Cobb and Marion (Badders) Cobb. His two older siblings, Peggy Langford and Eugene Cobb, survive him. The family moved to California when Cobb was young. He was a good athlete, played football for Santa Monica High School, and was a lifeguard at Muscle Beach. He received football scholarships and had hoped to play professionally, but an injury sidelined him.

He served in the Marines, and later the Navy, his wife said. He was visiting Anchorage where he told her a fellow stopped him on the sidewalk saying, “You’re a big guy, how’d you like to be a fireman?” Cobb was an officer when he retired from the Anchorage fire department. In Anchorage he was also married and divorced, and moonlighted as a commercial painting contractor.

At the time of his retirement, Cobb had been single a dozen years, and he decided he needed to settle down and find a wife. A friend talked him into being featured as an eligible bachelor in Alaska Men magazine.

“He got letters from all over. There were so many that he filed them in a big case in folders labeled by state,” Maureen said. Cobb drove through the Lower 48 to meet some of the women who wrote to him before joining a friend in Arizona and heading to Mexico. The friend was staying with his mother, who turned out to be Maureen. “I knew nothing about the magazine and all that,” she said. Cobb was smitten and announced a change of plans, sending his friend south and declaring “‘I’m going to stay here and date your mother,’ ” Maureen said. They were married a year later in Las Vegas.

Tim Maust built the Cobbs a home. He said that Maureen was Cobb’s “best friend” and true companion. “She stood by him through thick and thin. She was his whole life.” Cobb loved Haines, but health issues made rural life a challenge.

In Sun City, Cobb played tennis and softball until his health prevented him, and for years the Cobbs spent two months every winter traveling the world.

In addition to his wife and siblings, Cobb leaves Maureen’s son, Russell Del Grosso, and their grandson Ian Del Grosso.

The family will bring his ashes to Alaska this summer.

Cards may be sent to Maureen Cobb at 10135 W. Shasta Dr. Sun City, AZ 85351.