Richard Alva Dube

NAPLES – Richard Alva Dube, “Dick,” died at home on Jan. 27, 2024. Dick and his identical twin brother, Bob, were born to Henry and Emma Danforth Dube on Jan. 9, 1935, in Portland. “The Dube Twins” grew up in Lisbon Falls and attended Lisbon schools. They exceled at sports, playing football, baseball, and ice hockey at Lisbon High, graduating in the class of 1954.

After high school Dick went to work in the local woolen mill. After work one night, he met the love of his life at a bowling alley when she mistook him for his twin brother. On Sept. 12, 1957, Dick and Gloria Faye Brown, nee Winn, were married. They were together for 55 years until Gloria’s death in January of 2012. Dick never remarried. Their children are still in awe of the true and abiding love they had for one another.

Dick worked in the woolen industry for many years ending his career in production planning at Crown Alexander in Dexter, in 1970. Faced with mill closings all over the Northeast, Dick and Gloria took a leap of faith and purchased the Ripley General Store in Ripley. They turned the failing store into a thriving business and community lifeline for the rural town of 500. In 1975, Dick and Gloria sold the store and moved to South Paris, where Gloria had accepted a teaching position. Dick worked in the concrete industry for many years there and then became a real estate salesperson, working at Biz Realty in South Paris until his retirement.

In the 1990s, Dick and Gloria moved to Mashpee on Cape Cod and then to Florida, living first on the East coast and then moving to the Bradenton area to be near family. The pair fully enjoyed their retirement with Dick playing golf regularly and Gloria helping to plan their community’s social events. In 2010, they made the decision to leave Florida and settle near their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. They moved to Southbury, Conn., to start their next chapter. After enjoying time with family, in September of 2011, Gloria was diagnosed with cancer and passed away on Jan. 2, 2012.

After Gloria’s death, Dick left Southbury and spent the summers in his home state of Maine. He lived in a cottage on Brandy Pond built for him by his son Winn at his home in Naples. Until 2021, he spent the winters in the Bradenton, Fla., area where he connected with old friends. In the spring and fall, he spent time at his daughter Kristen’s home in Poughkeepsie in the Hudson Valley of New York. It was in Poughkeepsie that he returned to the arms of his beloved Gloria on January 27.

Dick lived a long and full life. After Gloria passed, his Brandy Pond cottage was his favorite place to be. If he wasn’t fishing on another lake with his son Winn, he could be seen casting his line off the dock in front of the cottage. Dick loved the game of golf and especially enjoyed playing with his grandsons in Maine and his son-in-law and grandsons in New York. He was a lifelong Red Sox fan and spent many happy hours at Fenway with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Dick was a big UCONN women’s basketball fan and, of course, a New England Patriots fan, always wearing his Patriots cap. He was quiet and unassuming but with a twinkle in his eye and a wisecrack at the ready. And he loved his family fiercely – as they loved him.

Dick leaves behind his son Winn (Kathy) Brown of Naples; daughter, Kristen (Jim) Bernard of Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; daughter-in-law Laura Brown; grandchildren Jeffrey, Christopher and Melaney Brown, Jamie (Rocco) Urso, Andy Bernard, Galyn Bernard, Charlie (Colleen) Bernard, and Ann (Patrick Gallagher) Bernard; great-grandchildren Gabriella and Nicholas Urso, Emma and Caroline Bernard, and Sonny and Archie Gallagher; a dear niece, Donna (Russell) Vachon, and great-nephews Matthew and Derek Vachon. Dick was predeceased by his daughter Diane Gloria Dube in 1964; his twin brother Robert F. Dube in 1993; his beloved wife Gloria in 2012; and his son, James E. Brown in 2022.