Albert Preston Hobbs' Obituary
Albert Preston Hobbs the son of Finley Carl and Victoria Watkins Hobbs and the beloved husband of Irene Hobbs, went to be with the Lord on September 1, 2024
Like many of those delivered by a midwife, his birth on June 26,1937 wasn’t recorded and he had to get a delayed birth certificate. He was always proud to say that he was born in a log cabin in a holler in Kentucky much like Abraham Lincoln. He was born in Wolfe County not far from Big Andy Ridge. Times were hard and like most children of the day, he was expected to work on the farm with the family. He used a mule to plow the field. Planting, hoeing and harvesting food was a big part of his childhood. There was milking, feeding stock and even butchering the hogs. He raised tobacco to buy his first car.
Due to an injury to his jaw when he was very young, he developed a speech impediment. The teacher in the one room school considered him retarded and just let him fend for himself and ignored him except to have him bring in the wood and fire up the potbelly stove on cold days. So, he stopped going to school at the end of the third grade. At 12 he was working delivering furniture and by the age of 14 he was working in the oil fields.
At 19 he married Linda Wright and soon after they left Kentucky for a new life in San Diego. They settled in Spring Valley and had one son, Dennis. Until his move to California, he was called by his middle name Preston. When asked why he started using his first and being called Al instead of Preston his reply was, “How would you like to be named after an uncle who was so careless he shot off his own arm”.
He became a union journeyman carpenter without serving an apprenticeship and by 1963 he was superintendent for a framing contractor.
Linda and he divorced in 1967, and he married Irene in 1970.
New horizons were ahead and in October of 1970 he was issued his general contractors license and was president of Hobbs Construction Corporation. In the late 80’s, when the construction industry was going through a hard time, he closed his business and considered himself retired but never stopped working. He formed Conversions Unlimited and began converting buses into motorhomes. There were some that said that he was a Jack of all trades and master of all. He possessed a strong work ethic and pride in his workmanship.
In his spare time, he restored antique cars that included a Model A Ford, several Chevy Corvairs, a 1957 Thunderbird and several Chevy El Caminos. He built dune buggies and loved going to the desert. Had a boat for many years and enjoyed water skiing. Later in life he took up restoring antique clocks, both the cases and the works. Dying at 87 he had lived a full life.
He was a member of the Casa De Oro Bible Church in Spring Valley and loved to go early on Sunday to hear the choir practice.
He is survived by his wife, Helen ‘Irene’; several grandchildren and great grandchildren; a sister, Faye DeZarn (Donald) of Hillsboro, OH and sisters-in-law, Pauline Hobbs of Lexington, KY and Phylis Hobbs of Stanton, KY and more than a few nieces and nephews and too many friends to count.
He was preceded in death by his son, Dennis, his parents, and siblings, Cora Hobbs Hibbard; William Carl Hobbs; Bert Hobbs; Ruth Hobbs Hoffman,
He loved life, working, creating but most of all, he loved people. Al will be returned to Kentucky where he will lay in rest in the family cemetery on the Big Andy Ridge in Rogers on September 20, at 11:00 a.m.
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