World traveler Christopher Andrew Diebling made his final journey on September 2, 2022. He will be remembered for his quick wit, unending sense of humor and his signature hearty chuckle.He was born in South Gate, California on August 15, 1945 and graduated from Bell High School, Class of 1963; California State University and the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School, Newport, R.I., in 1967. His first assignment was to Pearl Harbor on a Destroyer during the Vietnam War. After a year, he was selected for a coveted assignment as a member of the CINCPAC Chief of Staff office where he served for the next three years as a personal aide to Adm. John S. McCain, Jr., which Chris recounted as one of the highlights of his life. His duties included accompanying Admiral McCain and Mrs. McCain on official trips which was his introduction to travel.
After he left the Navy, he enrolled at the University of San Francisco School of Law, always intending to return to Hawaii which he had already decided would be his forever home. His law career began in the Honolulu Public Defenders Office. Chris then was in private practice briefly. When his law school classmate and close friend Randy Iwase became a City Councilman in 1986, Chris became his senior aide. In 1989 Chris joined the Office of the Corporation Counsel. For most of his career his assignments included legal counsel to the City's Department of Budget and Fiscal Services and Police Commission. Upon his retirement Chris was the first retiree representative elected to the Deferred Compensation Committee.
During the administration of Mayor Jeremy Harris, Chris was appointed Deputy Director and subsequently Acting Director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services because of his knowledge of administrative law and finance.
His retirement in 2008 enabled him to travel more extensively with his partner Lynette Char. His love for the open sea from his Navy days carried on throughout his life and there were many cruises over the years, including 25 Crystal Cruises, circumnavigating South America during two different holiday cruises. Throughout his travels he encompassed the globe from the North Cape to Antarctica, and along the equator from Ecuador to Colombia to Kenya to Singapore. He traversed the Panama Canal on three cruises, cruised the Amazon and been on the Zambezi. He celebrated a New Year's Eve in Sydney Harbor under the shower of the spectacular fireworks display on a private party boat with friends from Hawaii.
But the greatest adventure for Chris was travel to Africa which he did for his 70th birthday to Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa with his travel group where he walked with the lions, enjoyed Sundowners in the bush and drove an ATV on the Kalahari desert. Two years later, Chris and friends were back on a second luxury safari, this time to Kenya for the Great Migration and the Maasai Mara and Tanzania to the Serengeti. Chris lived life to the fullest and he and Lynette had 18 wonderful years together, laughing and enjoying dining and traveling with friends.
In addition to Lynette, he is survived by his Mainland family, brother Tim (Lora) Diebling and sister Bernadine Sequeira of Los Angeles, nieces and nephews and their families. They will remember Uncle Chris for his visits there, his generosity and his high school graduation gifts of a trip to Hawaii to visit him. He will be dearly missed.
Arrangements Provided By: Diamond Head Mortuary
