Joseph T Dick

After graduating from Garfield High School, he served two years in the U.S. Army in post-World War II Japan. While in Japan, he had the opportunity to climb Mount Fuji twice. After the military, he enrolled in the University of Akron.

He was an artist at an early age and enjoyed drawing cartoons. During his time at University of Akron, as a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, his drawing of the mascot Zippy the kangaroo was chosen by popular student vote as the official logo for the University in 1953. His drawing went on to appear on souvenirs, shirts and clothing, posters and was used in conjunction with University publicity for many years. Also, as a member of the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, he was involved in a publicity campaign for the movie “Bonzo Goes to College”. He arranged for Bonzo the chimpanzee, along with actress Helen Carr, to visit the University of Akron and have Bonzo inducted as an honorary pledge of Phi Kappa Tau. He earned a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Akron and went on to get his Masters in Education from Kent State University. After college he married Ruth Swain and moved to Cuyahoga Falls where he raised his family.

He had a love of theater and acting. He taught Speech, English and Drama in Akron and Cuyahoga Falls public schools for twelve years where he ran the theater departments and directed the high school plays. He was also an actor himself, acting in plays in high school and college, and later in local playhouses in the Akron area.

For fifteen years, he served as the Director of Health Education for the City of Akron Health Department under Dr. John Morley and Dr. William Keck. His focus at his time with the Health Department was drug abuse awareness and education.

After he retired, he started his own free-lance motivational speaking business focusing on health and wellness. He made many presentations to businesses in Akron, as well as nationally and internationally. He was an avid bicycle riding enthusiast and member of the Akron Bicycle Club. He rode cross country to many of the conferences where he was a speaker/presenter. One frequent destination was the University of

Wisconsin-Stevens Point wellness conferences in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. He was a long time member of the Cuyahoga Falls Natatorium where he made many friends.

During this time, he found another artistic outlet in photography and became a member of the Akron Camera Club. He enjoyed taking pictures of nature and wildlife while hiking or biking in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park near his home in Akron. One of his favorite subjects was the Blue Herons for which he is known. A photo he took of two herons, which he titled “Herons Necking”, was viewed by thousands on the internet. A photo he took of an egret was utilized for an international silk painting challenge. Artists around the world used his egret photo as inspiration to create art in different mediums. He also had the chance to travel to Europe, China and Alaska as well as the American Southwest which served as more subjects for photos to add to his prolific photography collection. He entered his photography in art shows for which he won awards. In 2023 at the age of 93, he was honored to have a lifetime retrospective of his work at the Summit Art Space in Akron.

He is survived by daughters Lisa (William) Hodge and Lori (Larry) Reinker, sister Joyce

(Gerald) Sweeney, grandchildren Brian Hodge, Christopher (Jenny) Hodge, Kelsey Reinker and Kirsten Reinker, 4 great-grandchildren and many cousins, nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his father Joseph, mother Vivian, sister Yvonne, brother Larry, former wife Ruth, mother of his children, and son Scott.

A celebration of life will be held on Sunday June 28, 2026 at 1:00 – 4:00 PM at Rose Hill Funeral Home, 3563 W. Market Street in Akron.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the following organizations:

Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park https://www.conservancyforcvnp.org/donate/

Summit Art Space https://summit-artspace.monkeypod.io/give/building-campaign

Akron Camera Club https://www.akroncameraclub.org/donate/

The family appreciates your thoughts and prayers during this time.