Richard "Dick" Schilling
Richard “Dick” J. Schilling, 84, of Waukon died Tuesday, November 27, 2018 at his home. Memorial services were held Monday, December 3 at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Waukon with Fr. Mark Osterhaus officiating. Burial with military honors was at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Waukon.
Martin Funeral Home in Waukon handled arrangements. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to St. Patrick School in Waukon.
Richard John Schilling was born June 30, 1934 in Waukon, the son of John Michael and Mabel Rosella (Beck) Schilling. Dick attended St. Patrick Catholic School in Waukon, where he was editor of the school newspaper, a member of the school’s successful debate teams from 1948 to 1952, and a member of the basketball team. In 1952, he graduated first in a class of 27 students. Dick received a Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts from the University of Iowa in 1956, with a major in radio and television news in the department of journalism.
In the fall of 1956, he was accepted for the Naval Officer Candidate School, where he graduated as an ensign in the spring of 1957. After attending aviation ground officer’s school in Florida, he was assigned to Air Task Group 3 at Naval Air Station Moffett Field, CA, and that fall was deployed to the South Pacific with that unit aboard Aircraft Carrier USS Kearsarge. Upon his return from deployment, Dick became administrative officer of the newly formed Replacement Air Training Group at Moffett, near San Francisco, CA, and served there until he was discharged in the spring of 1960.
He returned home to Waukon and in the fall of 1962, Dick joined Waukon Newspapers and was named news editor in January of 1963, a position he held for 36 years before retiring in 1998. He started a column for the newspaper in 1965 called “And Then I Wrote...” with the last installment of that column being published the week he passed away. (Editor’s Note: An invitation to share memories and thoughts as a final tribute to Dick Schilling appears under his column header on this week’s Viewpoints page - Page 9A in this week’s issue of The Standard.)
He was a member of The Waukon Junior Chamber of Commerce, serving a term as vice president in the 1960s; Dick also received a Meritorious Service to 4-H award in 1966. He was a member of the local Selective Service board during the Vietnam War, a member of and also served as president for the Waukon Municipal Library Board. Dick was named Outstanding Conservation Reporter by the State Soil Conservation Service in 1975, and received the Americanism Through Journalism award and a medal from American Legion Post 62 in 1981.
Dick was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church and sang in the choir for many years; he taught Confraternity of Christian Doctrine classes for St. Patrick High School seniors. He also coached third and fourth grade peewee summer league baseball. Dick also enjoyed gardening, hunting, fishing and reading.
Survivors include several cousins. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.
