2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 238

Celebrating the life of Robert Clark Dively.

Agreed to by the Senate, February 13, 2025

WHEREAS, Robert Clark Dively, an honorable veteran, beloved member of the Williamsburg community, and esteemed engineer and businessman who patented the marina power pedestal and several other inventions that transformed marinas and the boating industry, died on November 13, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Robert “Bob” Dively grew up in Warren, Ohio, during the Great Depression, where he excelled at baseball, ran a paper route on a bike he built himself, and graduated from Warren G. Harding High School in 1951; and

WHEREAS, after starting the engineering program at the General Motors Institute (GMI), Bob Dively was drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War; he served his country with honor and distinction by flying aircraft to collect weather data to support biological weapons testing in Dugway, Utah; and

WHEREAS, following his service, Bob Dively completed a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in electrical engineering from GMI; and

WHEREAS, Bob Dively filed several patents with GMI and set out on a career as an engineer at General Motors Packard Electric Division, where he produced high-tech aircraft and missile cable using high-temperature magnet wiring coatings that he had designed; and

WHEREAS, Bob Dively moved from Michigan to Williamsburg in 1982 and soon thereafter was working as a general contractor for the Willoughby Spit Marina in Hampton when he was inspired to invent the marina power pedestal, a device that consolidated power and water sources for boats docked in marinas; and

WHEREAS, Bob Dively founded several companies to market and distribute his power pedestals and related devices, including Sea Technology and Marina Power and Lighting, which he sold upon his first retirement, and Marina Electrical Equipment, a global leader in specialized electrical equipment for marinas; and

WHEREAS, Bob Dively's pastimes included hunting, fishing, gardening, and antique car collecting, but above all else, he enjoyed spending time with his family; and

WHEREAS, Bob Dively will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife of 46 years, Kelley; his daughter, Jennifer, and her family; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Robert Clark Dively, whose persistence to practice, curiosity to experiment, ambition to turn interests into refined skills, and love of family defined him and inspired all who knew him; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Robert Clark Dively as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's respect for his memory.