Richard 'Dick' G. Whiteford

Anyone can be a Richard but it takes someone special to be a Dick. (This was on one of the shirts he received for his birthday that made fun of his name!)

Richard (Dick) George Whiteford was born on April 7, 1952 to Robert and Dorothy (Waddick) Whiteford in Minneapolis, MN. He was baptized (the first time) in the hospital at birth due to a medical condition. Dick grew up in North Minneapolis and attended Ascension Catholic grade school with Monsignor Coates as the pastor of the church. The Catholic school kids all have good stories of the priests and nuns to share. It was their routine to walk to school in the morning, walk home for lunch and walk back home at the end of the day. There were no school buses or school cancellations due to snow and cold weather. He continued his high school education at DeLaSalle all-boys Catholic high school. During high school he worked at his first job at Fanny Farmer Candy shop on Washington Ave. He graduated in 1970 and in July 1972 he enlisted in the Air Force National Guards. He had basic training in Texas and mechanic training in Chanute Air Force Base in Champaign, IL. Dick was a Staff Sargent, mechanic and fulfilled his monthly week-end duties until February 1980 (7½ years later) when he left with an honorable discharge due to the upcoming birth of their 3rd child.

It was in high school that Dick met his high school sweetheart, Marcia Jarosz. Marcia attended the all-girls Catholic high school (St. Anthony of Padua) and they met at a soc-hop at DeLaSalle. Dick and Marcia got married May 26, 1973. They had a double wedding with Marcia’s twin sister, Mary. The honeymoon was spent with Dick in the hospital due to hemorrhoid surgery. Yes, we heard many comments about marriage being a pain in the a_ _! They moved to Brooklyn Center and went on to have 5 children. Four sons and one spoiled daughter. The family kept growing with an addition of 16 grandchildren.

At the age of 29, with 3 children under the age of 4 and having worked at Walman Optical, Northwest Automatics and Red Owl, Dick decided to go back to school for printing. He graduated from Dunwoody after 2 years of schooling in 1983 and worked at Meyers Printing and Daily Printing.

Dick was passionate about his love of the outdoors and shared that passion with his children and grandchildren. The fishing opener (that took him several days to pack), the deer hunting adventures, canoeing, and just going on nature walks was his enjoyment. So many stories that he told and shared were centered around his family and the love of the outdoors. We will just share that “poaching” was mentioned a time or two amongst their adventures. Please, wear camo to the Celebration of Life on Friday, May 30th

Dick’s love of nature and the outdoors led him to be a Scoutmaster for Boy Scout troop 610. He enjoyed the many, many campouts, merit badges and celebrating the young men who made Eagle Scout. With Dick’s encouragement 2 of his 4 sons (Corey and Nathan) made Eagle Scout. The Eagle Scout ceremony is something you will never forget.

Dick could not balance a checkbook but he could fix anything. He was a creative problem solver and loved watching history TV programs. Playing poker with his “buddies” or at the casino generated many fond memories with his friends. In September 1992, they built a house and moved to Maple Grove, MN.

In 2001, the printing industry drastically changed from manual labor to all computerized equipment. Instead of staying in the printing business, driving a delivery truck, or doing bindery work, he made the decision at the age of 49 to go back to school for HVAC at Hennepin Technical. He was honored when he was chosen to work part-time for Custom refrigeration as an apprentice with a take home truck while going to school. This gave him the opportunity to learn his new trade and saved the expense of having to pay for gas. (Both, were a blessing). In Spring 2003, at one of the boy scout’s campout a dad knew Dick would be graduating soon and mentioned they would be hiring where he worked and encouraged Dick to apply. We found out later he received a referral bonus for recruiting Dick. The interviewers loved Dick’s story of going back to school at the age of 49 and the 2-year experience he already had working while going to school. He was hired as 1 of 5 HVAC building engineers they were recruiting for their brand new large, spacious (85-acre) headquarters building just opening September 2003 in Golden Valley. The employer was General Mills! He can proudly boast he was one of the original building engineers of that new office building. This was truly his Dream job. Repairing the commercial ovens, escalators, monitoring huge boilers, and much, much more. He enjoyed the best 10 years working there when he was forced to retire in 2013 due to a medical diagnosis. It was fun to see Dick’s collection of the many different General Mills shirts with the events they sponsored and the products they sold. The saying “Find a job you love and you will never work a day in your life” was Dick at General Mills. Dick showed his family you are never too old to go to school.

Dick was a man of faith. After making his first communion, penance, confirmation, marriage and attending weekly Mass for years at the Catholic church, Dick was “born again” and baptized (the second time) at Northridge Fellowship Church in Rogers. This renewed faith October 10, 2015 totally changed his marriage, family, and life. Pastors Ben and Teri McEachern helped with this profound transformation and they continue to play an important role in their faith life, today. Dick’s new spiritual interests included participating in small groups, reading the bible, mission trip to Haiti and attending weekly church services. Marcia’s faith conversion was 9 months later in July 2016. Little did we know how this deep faith would make a significant difference in dealing with his medical diagnosis. A special and sincere thank you to Pastor Doug Whittlef who baptized Dick and Marcia.

In 2013, Dick was diagnosed with MCI (mild cognitive impairment). Due to the nature of his work he had to retire. The doctor advised 30% to 70% of patients with this diagnosis will end up with Alzheimers, dementia, or some other brain disease. Dick would cry and talk with his family what his future would look like. His mother was in a nursing home for 7 years with this disease and his deceased older sister (Patty) also had Alzheimers and had been in a care center. The odds were against us but we prayed that Dick would have a more positive outcome. In February 2022, Dick was at the stage where he could no longer be left at home alone. After 2 ¼ years of caretaking at home, Dick was placed in a senior living center in June 2024. Despite, living in a senior living he was still able to attend church service with his wife and family. This was something he so looked forward to every Saturday. Weekly church services will not be the same without Dick.

He was taken by ambulance to North Memorial on Thursday, February 6th and passed away at North Memorial hospital on Super Bowl Sunday, February 9, 2025 after his 11-year battle with dementia.

Dick, at the age of 72, went peacefully home to Jesus with the family singing Christian music and reading the bible.

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Marcia (Jarosz) Whiteford, their 5 children: Benjamin (Tayana), Phillip (Theresa), Angie (Tim) Schleif, Corey (Lauren), Nathan (Emily) and 16 grandchildren. His siblings Jerry Whiteford, Louise Hanson, Katie Whiteford (Rita Fox) and Godchildren Bryan Doughty, Tad Whiteford, Steven Amsler, and Kylene (Amsler) Kirkeide. He joins his parents Robert and Dorothy Whiteford, siblings Patty Connor and Tom Whiteford in heaven along with many other family and friends. Dick’s legacy will live on through the many stories he shared and the memories of those who had the opportunity to know him.

John 5: 24 - "Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life."

Visitation is May 29 from 4:30-7:30 p.m. at Kapala-Glodek-Malone funeral home 7800 Bass Lake Road in New Hope. Celebration of Life service is May 30th at 11:00 a.m. at Northridge Fellowship church 12522 Main St in Rogers. Visitation 9:30-11:00 (1 ½ hours) prior to the church service on May 30th. Luncheon to follow at the church.

Please share with others who may not be aware of Dick’s passing.