Richard Edmund Munly

Richard E. “Dick” Munly, 89, passed away peacefully Monday, August 12, at home in Arlington, VA. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joanne, and his four children: Richard A., Laura, Anne, and Karen; 12 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren.

Dick was born Aug. 8, 1924, in Portland, OR, the son of Julia Duffy and Edmund F. Munly. He enjoyed talking about his long paper route in the western hills of Portland, where he lived with his family. As a youngster he attended Cathedral School and was the first student-body president of Central Catholic High School. He worked the ‘graveyard’ shift in the Portland shipyards during the early years of WWII while attending college at Portland University. His dream of joining the Navy came true in1945 when he was selected for the Naval Academy, graduating from Annapolis in the class of 1948. He was sent as a young officer aboard the USS Duluth to patrol the Pacific, and often recalled witnessing the devastating effects of the economic inflation in China in 1948. While at the Naval Academy he met his future wife, Joanne Millard of South Norwalk, CT. After returning from the Pacific they married in December, 1948.

Dick chose to enter the Navy’s submarine service, attending submarine school in Groton in 1951. He was then stationed on the USS Piper, and later on the USS Rock in San Diego. He was selected to attend the United States Naval Post Graduate School in Monterrey, CA. Following his work in Admiral Hyman Rickover’s nuclear propulsion program at Oak Ridge, TN, he earned a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering in 1957. He was next stationed in Key West, FL, and commanded the submarine USS 424 Quillback, deploying to the Mediterranean in 1961 and to Guantanamo Bay during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the mid-1960’s he was Shipyard Repair Officer for the submarine base in New London, CT, and was later stationed in Charleston SC, Norfolk VA, and San Juan PR before settling in Arlington, where he was Project Officer for conventional submarines in the Naval Ship Systems Command in the Main Navy Building on Constitution Avenue. He retired from the Navy in 1973, and then joined VSE (Value Engineering) Corporation in Alexandria, where he worked until retirement in 1989.

After retirement he was a parishioner at St Charles Borromeo Church since 1967, and served on the food pantry committee and as a member of the bible study class. Dick treasured annual family reunions at the New Jersey shore, where he frequently dipped into his encyclopedic knowledge of college fight songs. He was a prolific punster and story teller, enthralling his many grandchildren and great grandchildren with Witch Hazel and Fred stories, a staple of their evenings spent with their Dick.

A visitation will be held Thursday, August 15, 5-7 pm at Murphy Funeral Home, 4510 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, (703-920-4800). A memorial service will be held Friday, August 16, 11am at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 3304 Washington Blvd., Arlington, (703-527-5500). The Naval Full Honors ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery will be at a later. In lieu of flowers a donation may be made to the hospice service Capital Caring, 950 N. Glebe Road, Suite 500, Arlington Virginia 22203.