Person:Robert Wybenga (1)

About Robert A. Wybenga

Robert Arthur "Bob" Wybenga was born 2 December 1938 in Makassar, Indonesia according to California, Federal Naturalization Records. His father worked for a business that was associated with the Royal Dutch Marines and his family lived in various areas of the far east. After World War II, the family returned to Holland where Bob completed his college education. In 1958, Bob, just out of college, filed for immigration to the United States under a special quota authorized by President Eisenhower. His parents wanted him to stay in Holland but Bob felt the opportunities were greater in America. He was granted a visa and arrived in Los Angeles in February 1959. Bob arrived in the U.S. from Holland with $20 in his pockets. He first worked as a lab technician working with high frequency electronics. In four years, he was promoted to lab supervisor. Bob also sold softwater units and delivered milk before he began his deli career, working for Kraft Foods.

Bob married 1st, Alida B. H. Van Wensveen on 2 December 1959 in The Hague, Netherlands [Holland]. They divorced 2 Oct 1980 in Orange County, California. He married 2nd to his wife Merle and they divorced in the early 2000's.

Bob worked for most of his career in America in the food industry. In 1966, Bob applied to Kraft Foods for a job as a sales representative. He was accepted and worked out of the Upland office of the Southern California division. Bob learned that the Kraft International Division was reorganizing its Holland Division and applied for a transfer to the International operation and in 1971 was flown to Brussels, Belgium for an interview. He was accepted and named Manager of the Dutch Division. This job developed Bob's managerial skills. In 1973, Bob decided to return to the U.S. because of the education of his two girls and for other family reasons. He returned to Los Angeles and joined the Fazio's supermarket chain as deli department head for vacation relief. Shortly thereafter, he returned to the sales side of the food industry and was hired by food industry legend Morrie Rosenfield at Ever-Fresh Foods, and Bob started as a route salesman and worked his way up to route supervisor. By 1977, bob was promoted to Sales Manager at Ever-Fresh and two years later was offered the management of Ever-Fresh's Texas market. The job offer, while tempting, Bob turned down, and he decided to go into business on his own. In 1979, bob joined some relatives in a business venture in Palm Springs, selecting luggage and other find leather goods and also a travel agency.

In 1981, Bob met with Chico Santillan, a Vice President at Crescent Foods and Bob was invited to join the management team and was soon named its Sales Manager. Later, in 1982, Bob was promoted to Director of Marketing for Crescent Reese Foods, and later was working for Peacock Foods, Atlantis Gourmet Foods and Mountain Farms/First World Cheese during his career. During the 1980's and 1990's, Bob was an active member with the Dairy/Deli/Bakery Council of Southern California (DDBC), or "Deli Council", a food industry trade association. He served on the Deli Council's Board of Directors, lectured at the Deli School and the UCLA Deli Course and was recognized for his leadership and participation in May 1983 when he received the organization's "Big Cheese" Award when he was working with Crescent-Reese Foods.

Bob Wybenga passed away on 31 December 2018 of an aortic aneurysm. Bob was known for his broad smile, gregarious personality and was well liked by his friends, co-workers and those in the food industry that came to know him.

1.   United States. U.S. Naturalization Record Indexes, 1791-1992: (Indexed in World Archives Project). (Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010).

   Name: Robert Arthur Wybenga
   Birth Date: 2 Dec 1938
   Age at event: 26
   Court District: California
   Date of Action: 26 Feb 1965

2.   California, United States. Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com, 2014).

   Name: Robert Arthur Wybenga
   Petition Age: 26
   Record Type: Petition
   Birth Date: 2 Dec 1938
   Birth Place: Makasser, Celebes, The Netherlands Indies
   Arrival Date: 28 Feb 1959
   Arrival Place: New York, NY
   Petition Date: 7 Jan 1965
   Petition Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
   Spouse: Alida B H Van Wensveen
   Petition Number: 266165

3.   California, United States. Federal Naturalization Records, 1843-1999. (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com, 2014).

   Name: Robert Arthur Wybenga
   Gender: Male
   Declaration Age: 20
   Record Type: Declaration
   Birth Date: 2 Dec 1938
   Birth Place: Makassar, Indonesia
   Arrival Date: 28 Feb 1959
   Arrival Place: New York, NY
   Declaration Date: 8 Apr 1959
   Declaration Place: Los Angeles, California, USA
   Declaration Number: 158356