Richard D. (Dick) Dooley |
| Posted 2008-03-28 by Judy Wight Branson |
| Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Friday, March 21, 2008 Richard D. Dooley, 89, born April 20, 1918, in Oelrichs, S.D., passed away March 17, 2008, in Prescott, Ariz. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, March 24, 2008, with a Scripture Rosary at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 25, 2008, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church with burial at Mountain View Cemetery in Prescott, Ariz. ----------------------------------- Daily Courier, Prescott, Arizona Tuesday, March 23, 2008 Richard “Dick” Dooley returned home on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, 2008. The Welcome Home Clan Gathering was hosted by his beloved wife, Mattie, his parents Loretta and Jerry; his brothers, Paul, Vincent, Vernon, Leo, Earl; his sister, Mary Harvey, Eleanor Pahlow, Irene Munns; his sisters-in-law, Anne, Catherine, Eileen; his brothers-in-law, Walt Petrig, Jim Price and cousins by the dozen. Dick was born April 20, 1918, in Oelricks, S.D., on the Henkin’s Place. He was their seventh child. Living in farm/cattle country, he had various jobs at home, with neighbors, friends and school. Before going to high school, he did a hitch with the Civilian Conservation Corps Company No. 2746 at Camp Crowley’s Ridge in Walcott, Ark., from 1934 to 1935. Upon his return, he had a dear family friend talk him into returning to school. He graduated from Chadron High School with his twin sisters, Irene and Arlene, in 1939. He attended one semester at Chadron State Teachers College. He enlisted in the Army on Feb. 14, 1941, in Omaha, Neb. He was sent to Fort Robinson, Ark., for basic training in CO K. 134th Infantry. On June 23, 1942, he married his high-school sweetheart, Mattie Nixon in Lone Pine, Calif., while he was stationed at Camp Manzanar. One week later, he was transferred to Long Beach, Calif. He held various jobs there. He took troops to New Guinea and India. He was an administrative NCO at the Los Angeles Port of Embarkation. He was mustered out of the army “for the convenience of the government” as a Technical Sergeant on Dec. 15, 1944. They lived in Long Beach until 1950 when they moved to Garden Grove into a house they had built. During this time, they owned and ran the Ideal Curtain Laundry in Long Beach. He also worked for the Ford Motor Co. at the Long Beach plant. He worked his way up in the company to the position of Foreman of the Paint Department. He was always very proud of his accomplishments and innovations there. He retired from Ford in 1960. He moved his family to Prescott, Ariz., in 1960. They purchased the Violet Ray Laundromat on Fair Street where the Fry’s store parking lot is now. They owned it for about 10 years. During this time, he learned the well-drilling trade and struck out on his own in 1969. In 1974, he bought Prescott Pump Service from Ike Gifford. Prescott Pump Service is still run by his grandsons Kevin and Brian Cunningham. He retired from the pump business in 1983. During his retirement he enjoyed traveling with Mattie and their dog Toi in the RV, making macramé chairs, hooked rugs and wall hangings and putting puzzles together. He has been the much-admired patriarch of the family as the only surviving brother since 1991; a responsibility he took seriously. He was very appreciated by his dozens of nieces, nephews and extended family members. He has kept them all entertained with stories of the exploits of the early days of the Dooley clan. He is survived by his daughters, Pat Wyatt and Linda Hill; sons-in-law, Dennis Wyatt and Steven Hill, all of Paulden Ariz.; sisters, Stasia Petrig Hopkins of North Platte, Neb., Arlene Price of El Paso, Texas, Ann Soucie of Campbell, Neb.; sister-in-law, Lillian Dooley of Bellflower, Calif.; brothers-in-law, Bud Soucie and Harvey Munns. He was the grandfather to Kevin, Rick and Brian Cunningham, Christina Weber and Michelle Hough. He was loved and blessed by nine great-grandchildren. Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m., Monday, March 24, at Heritage Memory Mortuary, Prescott, Ariz., with a Scripture Rosary to follow at 7 p.m. Funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m., Tuesday, March 25, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Prescott; burial will follow at Mountain View Cemetery in Prescott, Ariz. The family suggests donations be made in memory of Richard to: The American Diabetes Association, P.O. Box 13141, Prescott, Ariz., 86304. Information provided by survivors. |
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