Arthur Hobbs of Fall City, died Dec. 3, after a brief illness. He had recently celebrated his 80th birthday with his friends and family.

Hobbs, known as Art to most people in the community, was a tireless volunteer for the past 10 years at the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank and the former Helping Hands Food Bank at the same location on 122 E. 3rd St., North Bend.

“And his dog, Junior,” recalled Lynn Hobbs, his daughter-in-law. “He always had Junior with him at the food bank… He was just happy to be out there and helping the community. It was his job to make sure everything was in order.”

Hobbs had a long history of doing community work that included volunteering at the food bank, his church, Our Lady of Sorrows in Snoqualmie, and the Alano Club in Bellevue. This summer, he received a 2016 Rise and Shine award from the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network for his work at the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank.

“He would show up on Monday when they’d get deliveries in, and help unload everything,” said Lynn. “If they needed new shelves, he would build shelves.”

Born Oct. 30, 1936, in Kalamo Township, Michigan, to Joseph and Lucinda Hobbs, he was one of eight children and the youngest boy in the family.

He grew up in Redmond, where he met his wife Shirley. They were married in 1956 and moved to Kirkland where they raised their three children.

Hobbs was a body and fender man, trained in welding and auto body work at Edison Technical School in the 1960s. He worked at Allied Body in Seattle where he built truck trailers, and in auto body shops in the Seattle and San Francisco areas.

He was an auto body man for more than 40 years and loved doing custom paint jobs. He was passionate about cars, boating, drawing, and bluegrass music.

Following his retirement, Hobbs did his best to stay active, through volunteer work, collecting scrap iron, and being of general use to his community.

“If you rest, rust,” was a motto of his, Lynn recalled. “If there was a need out there, he did it…. My father in law was just a wonderful man.”

He received a great sense of fulfillment from his volunteer work, he said and always thought that it was more important than having a paycheck.

Art and Shirley recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary. He’d been in good health through his 80th birthday and anniversary celebrations, but developed a severe case of pneumonia that also affected his heart, Lynn said. His death was a shock to his family.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Shirley, his sister, Alice and her husband Doug, his son, Art Jr. and his wife Lynn, his daughters, June and Patsy, eight grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and many nieces and nephews.

A memorial service is set for 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Snoqualmie. In lieu of flowers and cards, family members have asked for donations to the Snoqualmie Valley Food Bank.

This summer, Art was presented a Rise and Shine award for his volunteerism at the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network’s annual awards breakfast. Courtesy Photo