Richard John (Dick) Moss died peacefully at Careage in Coupeville on Sunday, Oct. 8, 2006.
Dick was born Aug. 7, 1923 in Greeley, Colo, to Charlotte and Virgil Moss – the third of five children.
At an early age, the family moved to Minatare, Neb. where Dick lived until 1980.
After graduation from high school he enlisted in the United States Army in 1942 where he served as a staff sergeant with the 27th Cavalry Reconnaissance.
He fought in the western Pacific, including the Battle of Saipan and the Battle of Okinawa. Dick was wounded on Saipan and was awarded the Purple Heart on Aug. 5, 1944. Dick was then honorably discharged from the Army on Nov. 25, 1945.
He returned home and married Barbara Blain on Oct. 19, 1946. Dick attended the University of Nebraska in Lincoln for a year before returning to Minatare to become a rural mail carrier for 27 years.
Dick and Barbara lived in Minatare for 50 years and raised three daughters; Jeanne Rucker (Jim), Mary Beth Moss, and Janet McNeely (Dave).
They retired to Whidbey Island in 1980. For many years they made their home on Columbia Beach where Dick loved to watch the ferries and boats go by, fly his beloved U.S. and Nebraska flags, and enjoy summer days and evenings from his deck near the beach. He was also a bus driver for South Whidbey School District for several years.
Dick is survived by Barbara, his wife of 59 years and his three daughters, Jeanne, Mary Beth and Janet. He had four grandchildren, Matt Moss, Jason (Ginger) and Jill Rucker, and Julie McNeely. He also leaves behind his two sisters, Kathleen Creal and Nancy Oursler and two brothers, Harold and Phillip Moss.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents and beloved granddaughter, Jamie Lynn Rucker.
A committal service will be held at 3 p.m. Thursday,
Oct. 19, at the columbarium at St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Freeland with the Rev. M. Fletcher Davis officiating. There will be a reception following the service in the church undercroft.
The family suggests memorials to WAIF and the Clinton Library.
“I love the infantry because they are the underdogs. In the end they are the guys that wars can’t be won without.”
– Ernie Pyle
