Richard J Garber

Melbourne, Florida

June 15, 1919-November 23, 2014

A Christian Burial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, Melbourne, on Saturday, December 20 for Richard J. Garber who passed away Sunday November 23, 2014. Pastor Craig Boelke will officiate. A luncheon held in the church Fellowship Hall after the service, to meet and visit with Dick’s family, will be followed by the Committal service at Florida Memorial Gardens, with military honors.

Dick was born on June 15, 1919 in Nespelem, Washington to Philip and Florence (Hubler) Garber, graduating from Nespelem High School . After high school he worked many jobs, among them as a truck driver, cook and baker.

Dick enlisted in the Army Air Corps in June 1941 and served in England from October 1943 to July 1945, receiving an honorable discharge in August 1945.

While in the Service he met and married Grace A Grager on September 19, 1943 in Denver, Colorado. The courtship was the subject of a How I Met My Spouse story in the February/March 2011 issue of Reminisce Magazine.

As expected of a fourth generation newspaper/printer, after the war Dick and his growing family settled on Vashon Island, Washington where he worked with his father at the Beachcomber, the local newspaper. Dick moved to Anchorage, Alaska in September, 1952, found a position with the Anchorage Daily Times, and in December returned to Vashon to retrieve his family. The family moved to Anchorage in January, 1953 and Dick was fond of saying when he moved he took his wife and his watch; and hoped they would both work.

While in Alaska each fall Dick hunted with a group of friends for moose and caribou to get the family through the next year. During the week of the hunt Dick was the cook and meat cutter and famous for his blueberry pies. He was active in Anchorage Lutheran Church, several bowling leagues and coached Little League baseball for many years, and in 1960 took his State Championship team to the Regionals in Washington.

In 1955 the Alaska Department of the Interior offered a lottery drawing for veterans for 5 acre cabin tracks at no cost. Dick got one about 20 miles from Anchorage that was the third lot up from the highway with no road – only a path. With the help of his wife and children he cleared the land and built a log cabin that became a place of many cherished memories for his family.

In 1965 Dick and Grace moved to Osceola, Wisconsin where they realized their dream of owning and operating their own newspaper and print shop. Dick was the publisher and editor of the Osceola Sun from October 1965 until they moved to Florida in 1977.

In Florida he kept busy with his church, homeowner’s association, and volunteer activities at the King Center and Joe’s Place. His work shed in the backyard was always packed, but neatly arranged, with tools and projects -- but mostly things that he would not throw away. If you were looking for a nail, screw, small piece of wood or something more obscure, he would say, “I think I might have that in stock.”

Dick was preceded in death by his adored wife, Grace; parents Philip and Florence Garber, brother, Cyril and sister, Phyllis.

Dick is survived by:

His children: Linda (Austin) Miller, Melbourne, William (Jo Ann) Garber, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Lori (Allen) Weckler, Flowery Branch, Georgia.

Grandchildren: John (Andrea) Reinders, SC; Melisa (Dave) Clarke, FL; Donny (Tonya) Weckler, Jennifer Fitts, GA; Michelle (Pete Werner) Garber, MN; Vickie Scott, Kim Rindge, FL; and Michael Miller MS.

Great Grandchildren: John Reinders, Corey Clarke, Sierra Clarke, Brittany Fitts, Chipper Fitts, James Weckler, Gabrielle Weckler, Mathew Rindge, and Jennifer Perkins.

Great, great Grandchildren: Lydia Rindge, and Jozelyn Rodriguez.

Sisters-in-law: Evelyn Cota, Myrtle Klebe, Inez Buboltz, Kay Grager, Charlotte Grager, Dorothy Grager.

27 nieces and nephews spread across the entire United States.

Arrangements by the Life Event Center at Florida Memorial. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Food Pantry, 12 East Avenue A, Melbourne, FL 32901.