Robert Edward Dykes

Robert Edward Dykes, 86, of Salisbury, and formerly of Princess Anne, died Thursday, Sept. 23, 2004, at Wicomico Nursing Home in the presence of his five children.

Born in Salisbury, he was a son of the late Emerson and Lorena Noel Dykes and was preceded in death by a sister, Virginia Byrd of Crisfield; and a brother, Wallace Dykes of Pennsylvania.

After graduating from Chester High School in Chester, Pa., Mr. Dykes attended Drexel University until he was inducted in the U.S. Army. He served as an operations officer with the 149th Combat Engineers Battalion, which saw action June 6, 1944, at Omaha Beach, Normandy. He was among the veterans who were awarded the Medal of the Jubilee of Liberty given by the French people in recognition of the "bravery, sacrifice and excellence displayed by the victorious Allied Troops ..." dated June 6, 2002, and presented by Congressman Wayne Gilchrest in a ceremony at Salisbury University. Following World War II, Mr. Dykes served with the 115th Infantry, Maryland National Guard as commanding officer, resigning in 1951.

He was a member of Friendship United Methodist Church in Princess Anne and was initiated into the Temple Lodge 170, AF&AM of Mardela Springs in May 1976. In the late 1960s, Mr. Dykes purchased an abandoned cannery site in Rumbley, Md., known locally as "A-Hill." He and his family developed it as a family campground preserving the original "A-Hill" name. On May 1, 1979, Mr. Dykes retired from Delmarva Power after a long and well respected career with the local utility. He began his employment with Eastern Shore Public Service Co. of Maryland on June 21, 1948. After retiring, Mr. and Mrs. Dykes became involved in The American Boxwood Society attending conferences yearly and raising hundreds of boxwoods from cuttings of their own plants. In 2001, Mr. and Mrs. Dykes moved to Mallard Landing in Salisbury, where they resided until September 2004. A funeral service was held Monday at 1 p.m. at Old Friendship Methodist Church on West Post Office Road near Princess Anne, where interment was in the church cemetery. The obituary was originally published September 26, 2004 in The Daily Times, Salisbury, MD.

Robert married Hazel Ruth Gibbons, daughter of Charles William Gibbons and Maude Irene Brewer. (Hazel Ruth Gibbons was born on 06 Oct 1920 in Somerset Co., MD,¹ died on 29 Aug 2006 in Salisbury, Wicomico Co., MD and was buried about 01 Sep 2006 in Friendship Church Cemetery, Meadowbridge Road & West Post Office, Worcester Co., MD.)