Robert C. Durbin

Robert C. Durbin Robert C. Durbin, 86 of Indianapolis, passed away September 17, 2018. He was born on December 24, 1931 to Mary and Leo Durbin in Rushville, IN. Robert (known to friends and family as Bob), had a long and successful career in the hotel and travel industry, beginning at the Clifty Inn in Madison, the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson, and the Del E. Webb Hotel Corporation in Las Vegas. He rose to the position of Vice President and Director of Operations at Del E. Webb, with responsibility over a chain of 12 hotels in Nevada, Arizona, and California. In 1970, he joined Sheraton Hotels as a Vice President, eventually serving as a Director of Worldwide Operations and a member of the Office of the Chief Executive, settling his family in Wellesley, Massachusetts. In 1980, he left Sheraton for a position at Heritage Travel, eventually becoming an Executive Vice President. In 1990, he returned home to Indiana, taking over as the General Manager of the Indianapolis Marriott East, continuing the management of the hotel by the Durbin family with his brother David after his brother Donald retired. Bob retired in 1999, but kept busy by teaching classes at IUPUI in hotel manageme...[more]

View Full Online Obituary and Tributes

and volunteering his services to the Executive Service Corps. Bob served in the U.S. Army's Finance Corps as a First Lieutenant, and also received several awards over the course of his career, including the Hospitality Magazine Hotel Hall of Fame Award, the ITT Ring of Quality Award, and Marriott's Midwest Region General Manager Award. He was also named a Sagamore of the Wabash in both 1974 and 2017. He is preceded in death by his sister Mary Lee Ball and brother Donald, and survived by his brothers James, David and John and sister Ruth Lynne Walsh, and his wife of 49 years, Ruth Ann, his five children, Robert Jr.,(Diane), Bridget Parr (Timothy), Timothy, Patrick (Alexis) and William (Rebecca) and seven grandchildren, Kathryn, Andrew, Isabella, Lucia, TJ, Cailyn, and Liam. Family and friends will be gather at Leppert Nora Chapel on September 20th from 4-7, and Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish at 11am on September 21st with burial to follow at Our Lady of Peace Cemetery. You are invited to visit the website www.leppertmortuary.com where you may share a personal memory of Bob or arrange for a memorial contributions to the Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish or to the charity of one's choice.