Robert D. Dickey

Bob was born to loving parents in Virginia, Minnesota. They moved to San Diego when he was five years old. His father worked for the US Forest Service and was transferred regularly up and down California, so he lived and went to schools near the ocean, in the mountains and in the San Joaquin Valley. He graduated from Santa Barbara High School in 1958; and his dad was transferred to Fresno, where Bob attended Fresno State College, graduating in 1963. He married his girlfriend, Judy, and they had their first son. Following graduation, the family moved to Berkeley, where Bob majored in Asian Studies for a year, continuing those studies in Tokyo for six months. Upon his return, he changed his major to Operations Research, receiving his Masters’ Degree in 1966. Meanwhile, the family grew to three boys.

Bob’s career involved working in banks in the Bay area and Los Angeles. Following his divorce in 1984, he moved to Washington, D.C., to work with a consulting firm, where he consulted with banks around the country. In 1988, he married a high school classmate and moved back to Santa Barbara. That marriage ended in divorce in 1998. Bob became involved with the local wine industry, first at Brander. He chronicled many people, wineries and events when he began photographing the Santa Barbara wine country. He is probably best known in Santa Barbara for designing the Sideways map. Because of his love of history and his ability to tell a good story, he became a docent at the Santa Barbara Courthouse and Santa Barbara Historical Museum. In 2013 he began leading wine and history tours for cruise ships and corporate clients. According to the homeless man at the Courthouse, “he is the best tour guide in the city!”

In 2000, he met Deb Frazier, and they have been together ever since. They have had many fun adventures together including a couple of trips to France as well as attending and participating in many wine and food events throughout the years. Bob had an infectious spirit that he shared with everyone around him. He was a kind man with a good heart who could always make you laugh. He never took himself too seriously but applied himself seriously to every task.

We wish to thank VNA home health and hospice care for their knowledgeable and compassionate care of Bob these last few months.

Bob is survived by his three sons, Mark, Jeffers and Chris and his longtime partner Deb Frazier. He is predeceased by his brother Glenn.