John 'Bud' Alexander Rabska, 87

John "Bud" Alexander Rabska, 87, of Lake Mary Ronan, passed away peacefully at his son's home in Encino, Calif., on Jan. 19, 2012.

Bud was born in Thorp, Wis., on Jan. 12, 1925, to John and Erna (Mumm) Rabska.

Bud had one brother, Reinhart "Reiny;" and two sisters, Kathleen "Kay" and Vivian.

Bud served in the United States Army during World War II, and was awarded three battle-related medals for his distinguished service to our country.

In 1948, while serving in Santa Maria, Calif., as a Deputy Sheriff for Santa Barbara County, he met and married Zene Tognazzini. Together they had two sons, William "Bill" and Don. Shortly after Don's birth, having missed the mountains of Colorado and his favorite pastime of hunting and fishing, Bud moved the family to Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he worked for many years in security for one of the major casinos. He took a short sabbatical from the gaming industry to work on an Alaska pipeline.

After retirement he bought a cabin near Proctor, on the waterfront of Lake Mary Ronan, where he spent most days fishing and enjoying nature.

He is survived by his son and daughter-in-law, Bill and Kandy Rabska of Suisun City, Calif.; son and daughter-in-law, Don and Judy Rabska of Encino, Calif.; grandchildren, Kasey, Tommy and Rachel; and one sibling, Kathleen Walker of Arroyo Grande, Calif.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Feb. 25, 2012, at the First United Methodist Church in Arroyo Grande.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, info@pcf.org, Life Savers Animal Rescue, www.lsar.org or Mission Valley Animal Shelter, missionvalleyanimalshelter.org.