Gilbert R. "Gib" Marguth, Jr. was born in Oregon in
1934. He passed away a few days ago
after a 9-year battle with leukemia and lymphoma at age 77.
Assemblyman Marguth represented the 15th Assembly
District with distinction in the 1980’s.
He was a straight, common sense talker with a rye sense of humor and a
smile that lit up any room he was in. He
served as Mayor of Livermore and also on the Zone 7 Water Board locally and
left the Assembly due to appointment as the State’s Deputy Superintendent of
Public Instruction.
I had the chance to work with Assemblyman Marguth this past
year when he attended several of our events with former Assembly Leader Martin
Garrick in the Brentwood and Walnut Creek area. I didn’t know "Gib" well but I
wish I had known him better. He was a
gracious gentleman who enjoyed people and believed that public service was tied
to representative government. He was the
embodiment of a true public servant.
I recall stories of his tenure many years ago from my dear
friend Juanita Haugen, the former State President of California Women Lead and
a Pleasanton School Board Trustee, whose husband Gil was a friend and colleague
of Assemblyman Marguth’s at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. She and Gib were two of a kind in public
service – honest, hard-working problem solvers who cared deeply about making
the State of California a better place.
What people will remember about "Gib" Marguth could not have
been stated better from his son David in the Contra Costa Times today –
"My dad was not
your average politician. He truly was elected by the people for the people. He
often voted, as the say, ‘across the aisle,’ supporting bills that he believed
were right regardless of which side of the yard the idea came from," David
said. "At the end of the day, he loved this valley and loved this city,
and genuinely wanted to make it a better place."
Rest in Peace, Gib Marguth.
You were one of the best and Californians could use more good men and
women who are like you.