Richard William Kommers

Dick Kommers was born in a blizzard early in the morning on January 30, 1947, in Madison, Wisconsin, to the former Janet Elizabeth Jordan and William Jesse Kommers - Bill - of Madison. Early on Dick was slow in developing manual dexterity skills. In 1950, Bill took a position at the then Naval Engineering Experiment Station across from the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. One of the considerations of Bill's taking the position was Dick's becoming a patient of Dr. Winthrop M. Phelps of Baltimore, a pioneer in the research and treatment of Cerebral Palsy.

Prior to 1950 there was no educational institution in Anne Arundel County for handicapped - disabled - students. Janet and Bill became supporters of a group that petitioned the county school board to establish such a school. In 1951, Dick entered an annex to the Millersville Elementary School, the first school established for the disabled in the county. In 1953, Dick entered first grade at Severna Park Elementary School, and was nearly held back. Dick returned to Millersville in second and third grade, and then in 1956 reentered fourth grade - successfully - at Severna Park. In 1965 he was graduated from Severna Park High School and, after attending a year at Anne Arundel Community College, entered the University of Illinois where he took advantage of the school's Division of Rehabilitation Education Services. He earned an A.B. in Political Science in 1969 and a J.D. from Illinois' College of Law in 1973.

Dick passed the Maryland Bar Exam in 1973, and thereupon took a position at the Office of Counsel of the U.S. Army Engineer District in Baltimore where he remained until 1993, when he transferred to the District's Contracting Division. In 1995 he was granted disability retirement.

Dick is a member of the Bahá'í Faith, and has served it in a number of capacities.

In 1987, Dick's devoted wife, the former Julia Ann Estinto and he were married. He is survived by Eugenio and Eduardo Estinto and Ethel Armstead; their Spouses Ninon Estinto and Caté Stokes, and his Grandchildren Luca, Noah, Piero and Sahara Estinto, and Jordan, Jaime and Jillion Armstead. He is also survived by his brother, Stephen Kommers, and Steve's wife, Becky, and daughter, Erica Tougas.

In 1990, Dick assisted in establishing United Cerebral Palsy of Southern Maryland - now Bay Community Support Services. Later on, he became a member of the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, the Annapolis Human Relations Commission, and the Martin Luther King Awards Committee. In 2005 he was awarded the Committee's Martin Luther King Drum Major Award. He was a licensed radio amateur – call letters WA3CUE.

A graveside service for Richard will be held Wednesday, April 5, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Columbia Memorial Park, 12005 Clarksville Pike, Clarksville, MD 21209.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.witzkefuneralhomes.com for the Kommers family.