Cecil Dale Hull

Cecil Dale Hull 
 
Cecil Dale Hull, 83, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the hospital Saturday, June 6, after a brief unexpected illness. 
 
He was born February 11, 1926, in Wellington, Kansas, outside Witchita. He was the second-youngest of 10 children. His parents named him Cecil after a family friend, but he actively disliked the name and was always known to most everyone as "Dale." 
 
He joined the U.S. Navy at age 18 near the close of World War II and was stationed in Florida as part of a firefighting crew. He returned home to Kansas after his discharge and met his future wife, Ruby Irene Taylor, when they were both in a carpool of employees at a nearby aircraft plant. 
 
The couple married in May, 1947 in Kansas, and became proud parents of their only child, Rebecca, in 1948. Mr. Hull began his newspaper career as an apprentice printer at the Monitor Press near Wellington, and worked for a time at the Wellington Daily News. The family moved to California’s Central Coast in the 1950s when Mr. Hull took a job in the pressroom at the Five Cities Times-Press-Recorder. The family lived first in Arroyo Grande and then in San Luis Obispo. 
 
Mr. Hull went on to work for nearly three decades at the Telegram-Tribune in San Luis Obispo. He spent many years as an advertising salesman before moving back to the composing operation, and then retiring from “The T-T.” After retirement, he volunteered for many years at the San Luis Obispo Police Department, something he truly enjoyed. 
 
Over the years he was active in the First United Methodist Church in San Luis Obispo and with the SLORV group. He was famous in the Lincoln Street neighborhood for his gardening and was always generous with his oranges, lemons, and blue lake green beans. Two of the biggest joys of his life were his only grandchildren: Stephanie Hendrix and Karen Hendrix, both of San Luis Obispo. Mr. Hull was an enthusiastic photographer, shooting, developing and printing his own black and white photographs. His favorite subjects were his granddaughters. 
 
He was preceded in death in 1988 by his daughter, Rebecca Hull Hendrix. His beloved wife of more than 60 years, Ruby, died in March 2007. 
 
He is survived by his granddaughters and sister Wilma Maharry of Barstow; sister Dorothy Sarchet of Wichita, Kan.; niece Sandy Dirks and husband Richard Dirks of San Jose; former son-in-law Robert E. Hendrix and wife Teresa Mariani Hendrix; numerous nieces and nephews in Kansas and many friends in San Luis Obispo. 
 
A memorial service will be held Wednesday, June 10, at 10:30 a.m. at Reis Family Mortuary Chapel in San Luis Obispo. Private graveside services to follow at Los Osos Valley Mortuary. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association or the San Luis Obispo United Methodist Church.