Robert Gin

Born December 18, 1936 to Thomas and Yee Shee Gin, Robert “Bob” Gin was the fifth of ten children. He grew up in Salinas and served in the U.S. Army during peacetime as a young adult. Bob and his wife of 66 years, Gwendolyn (“Punky”), met at the young ages of 21 and 19. They married and made their home in San Jose where they raised their two sons, Gregory Thomas and Paul Henry.

After earning his college degree from San Jose State, Bob embarked on what would become a lifelong career as a public high school math teacher which also allowed him to pursue his true passion: coaching athletics. As a former high school player, Bob started out as a basketball coach in Gustine. When he and Gwen moved to San Jose, however, there were no openings to coach basketball so he took a position at Oak Grove High School coaching football and that became a second love.

Oak Grove was then a brand-new school in the part of San Jose where cherry orchards were being turned into housing for tech employees. As Coach Dixon recounts: “the football team was losing like crazy representing a small, new school. Bob became a defensive back coach and knew defense beyond everyone out there. The keys to his talents were having a controlled ego and a great ability to work with the kids.” The highlight of Bob’s coaching career was in 1978, when he and the rest of the coaching team lead Oak Grove to win the California Interscholastic Federation Central Coast Section Championship, besting teams from across six Bay Area counties. Friendships forged in those early years with teachers and coaches grew and lasted over Bob’s lifetime. He is remembered by them very fondly as a valued teacher, a dedicated and very successful varsity coach, and a very special friend.

Meanwhile because Gwen and her family were deeply steeped in golf, Bob eventually added golf to his sports repertoire where he could be not only a fan, but also a player—and the occasional unsolicited coach! In 1986, he and Gwen joined the Salinas Golf and Country Club which later became The Club at Crazy Horse Ranch. Greg and Paul also took up golf with Bob’s encouragement and soon there were family golf vacations to courses across the country, but Hawaii was always the favorite. Other family travels included China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and the Netherlands.

Bob readily shared his love of sports with Greg and Paul. Countless seasons of football, basketball, hockey and golf came and went with the three men planted in front of ever-increasingly large television screens, broadcasting dozens of cable channels, and requiring multiple remote controls. They shared vast hours of commentary that only the most devoted sports nerd could appreciate: following every draft and trade, reviewing and analyzing plays, scrutinizing statistics, and critiquing strategies. It was little wonder they dominated the “Sports and Leisure” questions in family games of Trivial Pursuit!

Bob was only 10 years old when his father died. Watching his mother raise ten children on her own, he quickly learned to be shrewd with his money and generous with his love. He was a master of coupons and discounts, always knowing where to find the best deals and make every dollar count. His loyalty to Costco was legendary. Around the house, Bob was forever in DIY mode with multiple projects in various stages of repair. When it came to tech, he could never have too many firewalls. He stayed at arms-length from anything Apple or Tesla, and firmly believed his cell phone should only be on when he was ready to make a call.

Though he often kept to himself, Bob readily gave his time and devotion to family and friends. Whether it was helping with renovations and gardening projects or giving you the pros and cons of every possible route to the airport long before GPS existed, we always knew that Bob was looking out for us.

Robert “Bob” Gin was a modest man, a loving husband and devoted father. He died on August 12, 2026 and is survived by his wife Gwen, siblings Annie, Ralph, Darlene, David and Frank, and numerous nieces and nephews, We loved him unconditionally, regarded him highly, and will miss him deeply.