Richard King Flood

“Dick”

1932-2021

Dick Flood of Edgewater, Maryland died on March 27, 2021. He was 89. A native of Mansfield, Ohio, Dick married Nancy Temple, his wife of 59 years. They met as students while attending The Ohio State University.

Dick was born during the Great Depression on January 3, 1932 to Thomas and Helen (Raitch) Flood. Son to a third-generation Irish father and a first-generation Serbian mother, he was the oldest of six children. Dick attended St. Peter’s Catholic School in Mansfield, graduating as president and valedictorian of his high school class in 1949. The first member of his family to attend college, he studied science at the University of Dayton, graduating in 1954. Dick was accepted into the School of Dentistry at Ohio State later that same year.

Like many in his day, Dick began working at a young age. His jobs in Mansfield included delivering coal to homes, carrying newspapers for the Mansfield News Journal, working retail sales for Moskins Credit Clothing, setting pins at a bowling alley, working as a "flour boy" for Palmer’s Bakery, and selling footwear at King’s Shoe Store. To pay his way through college, Dick worked summers as a dock loader for Westinghouse, Mansfield Tire and Rubber, and Martin Steel. He also carried mail for the U.S. Post Service, bussed tables, and worked as a store clerk for Miller’s Drug Store in Dayton. While attending Ohio State, he worked as a page for the Ohio Senate, a punch-card sorter for the Ohio Department of Taxation, and a soil analyst for the Ohio Department of Highways.

In 1957 Dick was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army through the Reserve Officer Training Corps with assignment to the 112th Medical Battalion of the Ohio National Guard. He went on to attend the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps Officer Basic Course at Fort Sam Houston, Texas later serving as S-4 for the 307th Medical Group (XX Corps) in the grade of Major.

Seeking a career in government, Dick took the federal civil service exam in March of 1961. Earning high marks, he was soon offered a position with the Social Security Administration and embarked on a thirty-five year career in federal service that included assignments in the Ohio cities of Columbus, Defiance, Waterville, Toledo, Hamilton, and Akron in addition to Social Security’s national headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland. His career culminated in Canton, Ohio where he served as Social Security’s District Manager and, later, Northeast Ohio Area Director for twenty-one years.

Dick devoted his working life to public service. In Ohio, he served in a variety of volunteer and board positions for the Buckeye Council of the Boy Scouts of America, the United Way, Goodwill Industries, the American Red Cross, Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne County, the Canton Symphony Orchestra, and the Northeast Ohio Air Force Academy Parents Association. In honor of his decades of volunteer service he was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club.

Following retirement from federal service in 1996, Dick and Nancy moved to Edgewater Maryland, where he continued serving the community as a Blue and Gold Officer for the U.S. Naval Academy, and counselor for the Navy Marine Corps Relief Society. In 1998, he and Nancy were invited to join the White House Social Office as volunteers during the Clinton Administration where they both worked until 2001. Dick was a member of the Delta Sigma Delta fraternity, the Knights of Columbus, and the Ancient Order of the Hibernians.

Dick lived life fully and was deeply committed to his family, his friends, and to the many communities where he lived. He was most happy sharing his retirement years with Nancy and often remarked that his joy in his children and grandchildren were the reason he lived so long. His first thought every morning was of his grandchildren and couldn’t wait to hear about their adventures in school, sports, concerts or travel. Most of all, Dick loved people, sharing stories, and having a good laugh. He will be forever remembered as warm, kind, gentle, fun, wise and the original “people person”. In lieu of flowers or gifts, we ask that you honor his memory with acts of kindness and an appreciation for life, laughter and conversation.

Dick is survived by his wife Nancy, brother Tom Flood, sister Marcie Schalmo, and brother John Flood; his children Edward Flood (Hal), Colonel Patrick Flood, USAF ret (Victoria), Special Agent Daniel Flood (Lynda), and Ann Flood Boyer (Robert); and his grandchildren Donovan Boyer (14), Aidan Flood (13), Sydni Martin-Flood (13), Jack Flood (12), Morgan Boyer (10), and Marin Flood (7). He was preceded in life by his brother James Flood and sister Joanne Schwam.

A Memorial Mass will be celebrated at Saint John Neumann Catholic Church 620 Bestgate Road Annapolis, MD 21401 on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 10:30AM. A Celebration of his life with a reception will follow at 12 noon in the Fleet Reserve Club of Annapolis 100 Compromise Street Annapolis, MD 21401.