Herbert William Dover

(87) Of Glendale and Laguna Beach. Herb was born November 13, 1924 in Evanston IL, and died January 19, 2012 at his home in Laguna Beach after a short illness. While living in Chicago, he met his adored wife, Nancy, on a blind date.  They married in 1951, and soon moved west, settling first in Eagle Rock, and then in 1962 in Glendale. Herb and Nancy were married for almost 50 years until her death in 2000. They had one daughter, Carolyn. Together, Herb and Nancy traveled extensively, scuba diving in the Indian Ocean and the Great Barrier Reef, and journeying to Papua New Guinea, Russia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and many other exotic places.  

Herb graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. While at Northwestern, he worked as a lighting designer for their theatre program, illuminating Cloris Leachman, Paul Lynde and Patricia Neal who were theatre students at the time.

He served in the Navy during WWII and witnessed the atomic bombing of Bikini Atoll aboard an aircraft carrier. After the war, he worked for NBC in Chicago, starting in the early days of live television as a camera operator and lighting designer. Herb later worked for RCA and traveled all over the country installing television stations, the final one being KMIR in Palm Springs in 1968. But he was proudest of being instrumental in helping start the Armed Forces Vietnam Network in Saigon, which broadcast TV to service personnel throughout Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War.

After he retired from RCA, Herb and Nancy started boating, piloting their “CoastWatcher” in Predicted Log (Cruiser Navigation) races up and down the Southern California coast. In 1995, Herb won the National Predicted Log racing trophy, the NAI, held that year in Chicago. Herb was a member of Santa Monica Bay Power Fleet, Southern California Cruisers Association and North American Cruisers Association. He was also honored as “Yachtsman of the Year” by the Association of Santa Monica Bay Yacht Clubs in 2004. Herb, with his daughter Carolyn at the helm, competed in races to Catalina, Newport Beach, San Diego and Ensenada.Herb is survived by his daughter Carolyn Dover Bent, her husband Thomas Bent, MD and his granddaughter, Katie.

A celebration of his life will be held Sunday, Feb. 12 from 3 – 5 at California Yacht Club, 4469 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey.  For information, contact CarolynBent@cox.net.