Dick was born in Wisconsin Rapids, WI on March 24th,1945. His parents, Dorothy and Leo, had 5 children- Pete, Paul, Bob, Dick, and Pat. His dad traveled as a salesman and the family lived in a one bedroom house in Wisconsin Rapids. Dick was the second youngest of the family. When Dick was 5, his family moved to a house in Park Forest, IL where he would spend his entire childhood. He went to Rich East High School where he was an offensive linemen on the football team and got a scholarship to North Dakota State. He went to North Dakota state for a year or two and then transferred to SIU.
A friend from high school called me one day and asked if I would like to go out with Bob’s brother Dick. I thought “Sure, why not?”. That was in Aug 1970. The minute I met Dick I immediately liked him. He was so down to earth, unassuming, compassionate, and had such a great sense of humor. He was so quick to have a witty comeback and had such a great smile.
Dick didn’t have a car so I would always pick him up in my ‘65 Chevy. ( I think he paid for the gas.) Dick and I dated for 3 weeks after which he proposed and 6 months later we were married. He proposed in my car and caught me off guard. I made him pull over because I was shocked that he proposed while driving. I didn’t know what to say. I did not say yes right away but eventually I did and it was the best decision of my life.
Dick and I got married in a small ceremony at Faith United Protestant Church in Park Forest, IL on Feb 27, 1971. Dick was planning on returning to SIU, but decided to stay home and continue his job at Sears. He turned that into a career, and retired after 30 successful years. We lived in an apartment close to his work for a year and then bought our house in Park Forest where we lived for 30 years.
2 ½ years after we got married we had our son Jeff. It was instantly obvious that Dick was an amazing parent. 5 years later our daughter, Jodi, was born. He did everything he could possibly do as a father. From changing diapers, reading to them, and taking us all on countless camping trips and long vacations.
We left Park Forest after 30 years and moved to Colorado. Dick always said he didn’t want to die in Illinois. Dick worked on designing our beautiful Colorado house for a year. We spent 19 wonderful years together in the house he designed. Dick was so smart. He always had a project going either inside or outside of the house. He would buy a book on whatever he was working on and figure it out.
He loved almost anything sports related, especially golfing and fishing. He loved to read, he always had a book in his hand. And Dick really loved to dance. He was just full of life, and touched everybody he met in a positive way. He was a great father, husband, friend, brother, and grandfather.
He is survived by his wife, Theo, his children, Jeff and Jodi, his grandchildren Jonny and Lukah, his brothers Bob, Paul, and his sister, Pat.
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