Dick, as he was known, grew up on a dairy farm near Berlin. After graduation from Berlin High School, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy becoming a radar technician, based on his high aptitude in math and science, thanks to his well-rounded education at Berlin High School. He was stationed on the USS Coasters Harbor (AG 77) a support ship, in the Pacific Theater at the end of WWII. After discharge from the Navy, he enrolled in Ripon College and then transferred to U.W. Madison where he finished his BS in Mechanical Engineering. He graduated Cum Laude with membership in Tau Beta Pi, an honorary society for Mechanical Engineering students.
Post college, Dick was hired by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, his life-long employer, He was assigned as a facility design engineer at Goodyear Atomic in Portsmouth, Ohio, a producer of U235, a refined uranium product used in atomic bombs and the nuclear power industry. After Portsmouth, he later worked as a plant engineer in Topeka, Kansas, Akron, Ohio, Beaumont Texas, Luxembourg in Europe and a special assignment to Istanbul, Turkey, helping to build and maintain a lot of factories for Goodyear. He was promoted Chief Engineer working in Parmatta, NSW, Australia, Cumberland, Maryland, and Wolverhampton, England. His final Goodyear assignment was back in Akron as the Chief of Corporate Engineering for Goodyear.
Dick was noted for his volunteer activities while assigned in Cumberland, Maryland. He served as president of the Cumberland Lions Club and headed a project to build and operate Lions Manor, a Cumberland nursing home.
He was also involved with the Boy Scouts and placed in charge of refurbishing the Potomac Council’s summer camp, enlisting the help of the U.S. Navy Reserve Seabees for this project. For his efforts with the Boy Scouts he was awarded the ‘Silver Beaver Award’, the highest honor bestowed on adult members. Goodyear also recognized him with their ‘Spirit Award’ for his volunteer work.
Dick married Rita Weirtz in 1953 and together they raised five children. He retired from Goodyear in 1991, after an over 40-year career. He enjoyed fifteen years of retirement before passing away in February, 2006.
Dick’s tombstone reads: “May the work I’ve done speak for me.”
