Richard H. Chamberlain Jr., 73, of Skowhegan, passed away Wednesday, March 11, 2020, surrounded by his loving family, at Maine Medical Center in Portland after a short fight with cancer. Dick was born in Binghamton, New York, the son of Richard H. Chamberlain and Elizabeth (Hale) Rowe on July 14, 1946.
Dick married the former Bonnie Kiefer, a high school classmate, on March 13, 1971, in Weedsport, New York. Dick graduated from Weedsport High School, class of 1964, attended the SUNY Maritime College, and graduated from Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry with a B.S. in Forest Engineering.
Dick and Bonnie moved to Maine in 1977 as Dick started work for Scott Paper as Woodlands Forest Engineering Equipment Engineer. He also worked for S.D. Warren and SAPPI as a Unit Manager, and retired as Region Manager of North West Region from Plum Creek Timber, working primarily out of the Bingham and West Forks offices, responsible for managing 450,000 acres of forest.
Dick, a member of the Naval Reserve, served active duty on the USS SAVANNAH (AOR4) from February 1971 to December 1972 as MM3 in the Engineering Department-Machinery Division during WestPac 72 deployment.
Dick enjoyed fishing, snowmobiling, gardening and lawn tending, traveling, and charting genealogies. He followed news in thirteen papers and the racing series Formula 1, IMSA, and NASCAR. In DeRuyter, New York, he was a past member of Ruritan. In Skowhegan, he was Director and later President of the Skowhegan Chamber of Commerce. He designed and carried out the first Logging Events held during Log Days, involving both amateur and professional contestants. He was a silent member of the Skowhegan History House and the Skowhegan Free Public Library.
Dick is predeceased by his father Richard H. Chamberlain, aunts and uncles, Alice Hutchinson, Pat and Chuck Hale, Barry Hale, Phillip and Lucy Chamberlain.
Besides his wife Bonnie of 49 years of Skowhegan, he leaves his two daughters, Claire McCown and her husband Paul of Lantana, Texas, and Sara Chamberlain of Austin, Texas ; his mother, Elizabeth Rowe of Binghamton, NY; his brothers, Jamie Chamberlain and his wife Sharon of Concord, Ohio, Dennison Chamberlain and his wife Nedra of Cicero, NY, Carl Chamberlain and his wife Mary of Binghamton NY; his three grandchildren, Marilynn, Corbin, and Cora; his brother-in-law Gregory Kiefer and his wife, Lois, of Stowe, VT; many nieces and nephews; and Shipmates, especially Kaz and Dale; and his fur baby, Feng.
A celebration of his life will be held at a later date.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of Smart & Edwards Funeral Home, 183 Madison Ave., Skowhegan, Maine, if you would like to leave the family notes of condolences you may do so at our website – www.smartandedwardsfh.com
Donations may be made in his memory to the Wounded Warriors Project, P.O. Box 758516, Topeka, Kansas 66675-8516 or the Travis Mills Foundation, 747 Western Avenue, Manchester, Maine 04351.
