Alan Gribble

Alan Paul Gribble of Zionsville, IN passed peacefully at St. Vincent's Hospice on July 5, 2014 after a long struggle with leukemia. He was born October 26, 1944 to the late Jane Marland Gribble and Waldron Gribble in San Francisco. Alan was a 1962 graduate of Lincoln High School in San Francisco. He attained his bachelors in 1972 and MBA degree in 1973 from San Francisco State University. Alan served in the US Army Reserves from 1966 through 1972. He was a devoted partner, father, grandfather, brother, son and friend. Alan worked from 1973 through 1977 for the Public Safety Department and Redevelopment Agency of Sunnyvale CA and then for San Mateo County until 1981. Alan moved from California to Zionsville in 1981, and began his career in insurance. Through the years, he attained designations of CLU, ChFC, and CASL. He joined Northwestern Mutual in 1989, where he built a long and successful career, making many friends along the way. He opened the first Zionsville NWML office in 1995 and achieved "Million Dollar Round Table" several times. Alan was always ready to help his friends and volunteer to help his community. In 1997, he recognized that the Pleasant View Elementary School in Zionsville had no playground for its students, and so he spearheaded the efforts to raise the money, organize 1200 volunteers, and build the Pleasant Place Playground. For these efforts, Northwestern Mutual recognized him in 1998 with the "Most Exceptional Volunteer" award. Alan was a sports enthusiast and especially loved the SF Giants. He visited many ball parks with his children in tow. He loved history and enjoyed visiting civil war sites. He loved travel and spent as much time as possible visiting the national parks, running "boot camp daddy" with his children, and hiking mountains with friends while hitting all the brew pubs and wineries along the way. All of us will remember the $2.00 bills he gave us and our responsibility to "spend them"! Throughout his journey and battle with leukemia, Alan maintained his positive attitude and his zest for life. He gave us all the strength to keep going. He will be remembered by friends and family as "one of the all time greats!" Alan is survived by his fiancée Katherine Eardly of Zionsville; daughter Sierra Gribble and granddaughter Zazou Pitts from Albany, CA; son Adam Gribble and his wife Daphne from Westfield, IN, Katherine Gribble and fiancé William Motley from Philadelphia, PA; his brother Gordon Gribble, sister-in-law Louise, niece and nephew Julie and Johnny Gribble; his brother Roger Gribble, wifesister-in-law Annie, and nephew Robbie Gribble; Katherine Eardly's children Maria DiBenedetto and her husband Joe and children Katie, Alexandria and Charles; Michelle Read, husband Bryan; and Joseph Eardly, husband Richard Welch. He is also survived by two cousins Ann Marland and Mary Croft, husband Dan Croft, two grand-nephews Anthony Saporito and Matthew Saporito. The family would like to thank the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit at IU Hospital and St. Vincent's Hospice for their gentle, loving care of Alan.