Robert 'Skip' Arbuckle, M.D., 65

Robert "Skip" Arbuckle, M.D., 65, passed away at his winter home in LaQuinta, Calif., on Sunday, April 6, 2008, after a battle with cholangiocarcinoma. He was born June 10, 1942, in Philadelphia, and moved to Piedmont, Calif., as a toddler. He attended Piedmont High School and graduated from the University of California-Berkeley in 1963.

Skip graduated Alpha Omega Alpha from Temple University School of Medicine in 1968 and completed his residency at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (Boston) in orthopaedic surgery in the Harvard Combined Programs. In addition, he was a clinical instructor of orthopaedic surgery at Harvard Medical School. He was also an attending orthopaedic surgeon at Children's Hospital (Boston), Winchester Hospital (Winchester, Mass.), and Littleton Hospital (Littleton, N.H.).

Between medical school and his surgical residency, Skip was a medical officer with the U.S. Army Medical Corps and served in Korea.

Skip and his first wife, Barbara (Stiles), were married in 1964 and had three children, Robert "Skipper", Justin and Amy, during their marriage.

Skip began his orthopaedic practice in Littleton in 1977. He served on the Littleton school board and was a trustee of Littleton Regional Hospital. He played in a basketball league and coached Senior League baseball, but he still found time for golf, tennis, guitar and banjo playing, and singing in the church choir.

In 1986, Skip married Shelly Connors, and they moved to Laconia, N.H., where he continued to practice orthopedics. He was chief of surgery at Lakes Region Hospital and served on the board of New Hampshire Public Radio. He was on the sidelines every fall weekend as medical consultant to the Laconia and Kennett High School football teams.

Skip retired from medicine in 2000 and he and his wife, Shelly, moved to Whitefish, where he was a member of the Iron Horse Golf Club. He has wintered in the Palm Springs area since then and was a member of the Thunderbird Country Club and The Hideaway. With no bones to operate on, he honed his sawing skills making furniture. He was a man of few words, but you knew he truly liked you if he made something for you.

He is survived by Shelly, his wife of 22 years; his mother, Irma "Gigi" Brandt, of San Mateo, Calif., who recently celebrated her 95th birthday; sons, Robert K. Arbuckle of Windemere, Fla., and Justin Arbuckle of San Francisco; daughter, Amy LaCross, of Albuquerque, N.M.; stepdaughters, Kelsey Schmid-Sommer and Erica Connors of Whitefish; his sister, Suzanne Moore, of Cypress, Calif., and five grandchildren.

A reception is being held today, April 13, at the family home in Lake LaQuinta (760-328-2161). A memorial service and celebration of life will be held in Napa, Calif., on May 25, at his son's vineyard.

Donations in his honor can be made to the Alpine Theatre Project or the North Valley Hospital Foundation located in Whitefish.