Dick Dubbels
Please remember in your prayers Dick Dubbels, recently retired construction manager at the University of St. Thomas, who died at his home in Farmington Monday morning, Jan. 25.
Dubbels, who had cancer, retired on Jan. 7. A former employee with Opus Corp., he began working St. Thomas in 1981 and was promoted to construction manager in 1988.
He is survived by two children, Bob and Jennifer. His wife, Shirleyann, died three years ago.
Visitation will be held from noon to 2 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 28, at the White Funeral Home Chapel, 901 3rd St., Farmington. The funeral service will be held there at 2 p.m. An obituary from the Farmington newspaper can be found here.
Dubbels, 62, was one of 125 members of the St. Thomas community profiled in the book, 125 Years: A Look at Interesting and Influential People in the History of St. Thomas. The book was published last fall in connection with the university's quasquicentennial observance.
The book's author, Richard Conklin, wrote that Dubbels had an unmatched knowledge of campus infrastructure. He "gained a reputation for attention to detail, problem-solving and communication skills" and was a "patient manager adept at explaining building activities to clients not necessarily skilled in reading blueprints," Conklin wrote.
Dubbels' first project at St. Thomas was an expansion of Murray Hall. He went on to supervise the building of nearly two million square feet of additional campus space, including the Frey Science and Engineering Center and the entire Minneapolis campus.
In one unusual project, Conklin wrote in his essay, "Dubbels developed and engineered Koch Commons' fountain, with its motifs of stone, grain, grapes and water, from design sketches by sculptor Michael Price, who died from cancer before the fountain was installed."
