Cabin Campbell

Cabin came from a family that gifted him with much love, fun, humor, and a deep love of God. His parents were very involved in church youth groups and Scouts, and he had very fond memories of these. He followed his father in many church activities, such as church camps and helping people move. He was fascinated when his mother, as Den Mother to his Scouting troop, made a spectacular American Eagle out of used computer punch cards and a potato. For him, the love and support of his family, and him for them, was as natural as the rising and setting of the sun. He had an encyclopedic knowledge of the Bible, and knowledge and appreciation for the right thing. When standing in line at a fast food restaurant, he observed an aggressive drunk man harassing a young mother with several young children, and she was scared. He, normally a very gentle person, ran the drunk man away, not once, but twice, because, he later told his wife, “it was the right thing to do.” At points in his recent illness, he was not clear he was in the hospital, but he remembered the words to the song “Amazing Grace” and that it was located on page 57 of the hymnal, as well as the Lord’s Prayer. He loved God and prayed every day with his wife throughout his illness, holding fast to his faith and trust in Him. Cabin graduated from T.C. Williams High School and George Mason University, specializing in Graphic Design. He was very interested in design of all types, but especially cars, and knew the design evolution of every car model in detail. His wife learned about this detailed knowledge of cars when they happened upon a car show on their honeymoon, which caused her to wonder, “he knows how they changed the grill from the 1957 Chevy to the 1958 version and I didn’t know that about him? What else don’t I know about this man?!” It was an early lesson in marriage, that no matter how much we know about our spouses, there’s always another layer. Cabin joined the Navy to serve his country and to see the world. He was especially happy with his choice when he was sworn in by the Admiral at the game of his favorite football team, the Redskins. He did, in fact, get to see the world, sailing to England, Denmark, France, The Netherlands, Australia, the Indian Ocean region, the Middle East, and throughout the Caribbean. He served in the engine room of the Charles F. Adams, a destroyer. In Cab’s wry but pragmatic way of thinking, he chose the Navy because “I might get blown up, but up until then I’ll have 3 hot meals and a bed to sleep in.” He loved his country and was a proud veteran. He and his wife were married for 21 years, and together for 23. Cabin’s thoughts on their marriage was that neither of them had a choice, it was “just a force of nature,” like gravity, and inevitable. His wry sense of humor came out early. When standing behind his future wife on an escalator on an early date, he suddenly kissed her on back of the neck. When she turned around, he said, “Now I expect you will want to be properly introduced,” as if he’d been a stranger. He would also routinely describe increasingly gruesome things that he would NEVER do to her, trying to top the last one, with a grin. When he gave her an engagement ring on her birthday, he said, “Well, I had to come up with something better than the birthday gift you got me” the previous month. He loved his home, Alexandria, VA. He told his wife that he would never live anywhere where he couldn’t see the Masonic Temple, a local landmark. He held the past close, and trips around town included a running commentary on the churches his family had attended, all the people they had picked up for church, and the locations where all of their youth group activities had taken place. He had a sharp intellect and remarkable memory, getting all of the Jeopardy questions right most of the time. He remembered the words to a theme song for a show that had been on TV only when he was 3 years old and he hadn’t seen or heard since. Cabin was fascinated by the concept of time, and how different generations view both the past and the future. He was a devoted Trekkie, a fan of Star Trek, with bookcases full of Star Trek books and memorabilia. For over 25 years, he has met with like-minded friends every Saturday to discuss Star Trek, and has not run out of material. His wife once provided a little-known Star Trek detail, and Cabin looked at her and said, “I have never loved you quite as much as this moment.” He loved robots, SciFi, the possibilities of alternative histories, space exploration, Steam Punk and comic book heroes. He would say that the only reason he wasn’t even more of a nerd, and was capable of landing a wife, was that “he loved women even more than Star Trek.” He had eclectic taste in music. An afternoon’s selection might include Italian opera, Punk Rock, national anthems, bagpipers, Frank Sinatra, and chanting monks. When he had a medical procedure that could have impacted his brain, the nurse brought in his wife when he was in recovery. The nurse, very concerned, said, “he’s doing very well, except…he’s singing in Italian,” obviously worried that this could indicate brain injury. When his wife said, “Oh, that’s normal for him,” the nurse was visibly relieved. He later said that he figured that, if he could remember a song in Italian, his brain was probably O.K. He passed from complications of heart bypass surgery and successive infections after six very difficult months. He is survived by his parents, his father, Rev. Paul Campbell and mother, Geneva Campbell; his loving wife, Robin Campbell; his brothers Michael Nourse and Ronald Drain and sister Robin Crawford Finney; and by three nephews, Brandon McMahon, Marcus McMahon, and Joseph Crawford; and many other family and friends. He was predeceased by two brothers, Shawn and Barry Campbell. We know that, through God’s love, Cabin lives, and trust that we will be reunited with Cab through that same love. As Saint Paul said, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor things present nor things to come nor powers nor height nor depth nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Tributes

Cabin Campbell

July 3, 1960 - April 25, 2022