Dick Bresee's Obituary
Dick Bresee, 95, of West Palm Beach, FL, formerly of Vandalia,
died on Saturday, September 10, 2016. Graveside services will
be held at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 17, 2016 at Fairlawn
Cemetery in Vandalia. Visitation will be from 1-2 p.m.
Saturday, September 17, 2016 at Hohlt and File Funeral Home in
Vandalia.
Dick
was born in Chadron, Nebraska. A
self-professed "Nebraska farm boy," Dick received a chemical
engineering degree from the University of Nebraska and was an
instructor in engineering/physics at the University of
Nebraska. Dick was a recipient of the
Bausch and Lomb Honorary Science Award and holder of several U.S.
patents. Starting out with Phillips
Petroleum Company in 1948, Dick worked for Phillips for several
years in sales, in addition to working on several research
projects. He then moved to Vandalia and
purchased Densmore Sales and Service, a propane gas company, later
becoming Your Comfort Heating Company, which he ran for 30-plus
years until retiring and moving to sunny Florida.
Dick
was in the Nebraska National Guard. He
then joined the Air Force during WWII as a bombardier-navigator
with the 14th Air Force, Flying Tigers, flying "The Hump" during
the China-Burma-India theater with over 50-plus combat missions,
achieving the Distinguished Flying Cross, Asiatic Pacific Service
Ribbon with 2 Bronze Stars and the Air Medal.
A very
thoughtful and generous man and staunch supporter of education,
Dick donated farmland to the Vandalia school
district. He loved farming and piddling on
his land. In addition to farming and
"engineering" contraptions, thereby improving products for himself
and friends until very recently, Dick was also an educator of
sorts. His brilliance, thoughtfulness, and
humor will be missed. Survivors include
his children and several grandkids.
What’s your fondest memory of Dick Bresee?
What’s a lesson you learned from Dick Bresee?
Share a story where Dick Bresee's kindness touched your heart.
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