Charles "Dick" Richard Hines

In Dick’s 81 years on this Earth, determined and a fighter describe how he lived his life.

Born in Miami, Florida, Dick was the baby of his family. At age 10, Dick moved to Clearwater, Florida with his family. Shortly after, Dick came down with polio and spent two weeks in an iron lung. He went to rehab and spent a year in a wheelchair and was on crutches, missing out on the carefree pursuits of others his age. Part of his recovery was learning to sail and race a pram through the Optimist Club. This polio experience early on gave him special feelings and insight on the frailty and struggles of being a human being.

Dick, like his father, loved to tell a joke. It was a way of connecting with other people and he had a good sense of humor. One he liked to tell was, “People can get used to just about anything, even marriage”. If a joke was good, it was worth repeating.

After high school, Dick went on to the University of Florida, majoring in Physics. He went on to Graduate School working on a PhD in Physics but left before reaching his goal. He worked for a time designing cable TV systems and then moved to Colorado in 1974 with a number of friends who had all been laid off from their jobs. His friend, Dale Weyent, and Dale’s brother were the first to reach Colorado and liked what they found, the others soon followed.

Dick’s science background landed him a job with the State of Colorado Highway Department. After many hours of study he passed the Professional Engineers Exam and became a licensed engineer with the Highway Department. He worked in bituminous pavement and was head of the concrete unit for many years. He especially enjoyed traveling to Washington DC to be part of a research panel at the National Academy of Science, and also traveling to the University of Oregon and meeting with Dr. Lotman. He enjoyed teaching material testers around the state and writing specifications for materials used in highway construction. While working at the materials labs, he met and married his wife, Kathy, in 1979. Dick’s first date with his future wife, Kathy, would be to go sail out at Cherry Creek State in Denver.

After retiring from the state after 24 years, he worked with Meals on Wheels for a while. Mostly though, he missed work and the sense of self-fulfillment his work gave him. In his leisure time and in retirement, Dick enjoyed going to Broncos', Nuggets', and Rockies games. He even got to go to the Australian Open and US Open Tennis Tournaments as part of his travels after retirement. Dick enjoyed traveling first around the beautiful state of Colorado, and in retirement to Mexico, Europe, Hawaii, and cruising around the tip of South America.

Dick was an overcomer and took on many physical challenges that life dealt him. When he broke his shoulder, he learned how to tie his shoes with one hand. He fell and broke his hip at the end of 2019 which took a bit of work after his hip replacement surgery. Through all of his challenges he really never complained much.

Dick is survived by his wife of 45 years, Kathleen M. Hines; brother, Robert Hines; sister, Betty Peed; sisters-in-law, Joanne Ingersen and Nancy Taylor; and numerous nieces and nephews.

He is preceded in death by his father, Charles Albert Hines; mother, Mary Lou Hines; and his sister, Jean McDonald.

Dick will be missed.

A Graveside Service for Dick will be held Friday, January 10, 2025 at 1:00 PM at Evergreen Cemetery, 1005 Hancock Expy, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.