Richard Edward Lucey

Richard “Dick” Edward Lucey

June 6, 1928 ~ October 2, 2 014

Richard “Dick” Edward Lucey died Oct. 2, 2014, at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Portland, Oregon. He was 86 years old.

Dick was born June 6, 1928, in Brooklyn, N.Y., to Richard A. Lucey and Mary A. Lucey. His father was an engineer for Ebasco, a public utility holding company. Dick and his younger brother, John, were raised in Radburn, a planned community inside of Fair Lawn, N.J. Dick loved playing sports and was on his high school basketball and baseball teams. In summers, he enjoyed lifeguarding at the municipal pool, a little golf and rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

After graduating from Fair Lawn High School, Dick attended the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. He commuted there by train each year, as air travel was extremely rare. In 1949, Dick graduated from Notre Dame with a mechanical engineering degree and took a job with the Texas Company “Texaco.”

The Korean War called Dick into service and in 1951, he joined the U.S. Navy as a naval cadet. He was a member of the Navy Exhibition Drill Team and performed at halftime during football games. After being commissioned as an officer, he attended flight training in Beeville, Texas. Dick flew FH2 Banshee jets for VF-23 and deployed aboard the U.S.S. Essex aircraft carrier.

Dick met Lois Gibson, a stewardess for American Airlines, at the Officer’s Club in Alameda, Calif. In June of 1955, Dick left the service. He and Lois married a few weeks later.

Dick found work with The Rucker Company, a manufacturer of hydraulic controls in Oakland, and soon bought a home in Pleasant Hill. Dick and Lois had three children in as many years and moved to a larger home in Orinda, Calif.

In 1964, Dick took a job at Cascade, a maker of forklift attachments, and moved the family to Portland. After many years with Cascade, Dick became the sales manager at CB Equipment, a Toyota forklift distributer. Over the years, Dick was a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club, Rotary Club, Notre Dame Club of Portland, West Hills Racquet Club and the Irvington Club.

After putting his children through college and seeing his daughter married, Dick retired in 1991. Retirement suited him and for many years, he enjoyed golfing with his friends at the Riverside Golf Club. In 1996, however, Dick and Lois’s oldest son, Doug, died, leaving a heartache that never completely healed.

In retirement, Dick enjoyed his roses and hummingbirds, Notre Dame football (well, really everything Notre Dame), MLB and he even tolerated World Cup soccer. Dick is survived by his wife, Lois; son, Kevin; daughter, Robin Dunleavy (Francis); grandchildren, Bailey, Gibby and Avril Dunleavy; and brother, John Lucey of Potomac, Md.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that a donation be made to the St. Michael Church Capital Campaign, c/o 424 S.W. Mill St., Portland, OR 97201, in memory of Richard Lucey. St. Michael Church is raising money to repair its beautiful old structures.

A funeral Mass will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, Oct. 10, 2014, at St. Michael the Archangel and a celebration of life at noon at the Multnomah Athletic Club. Please join us.