Obituary of Richard Willett

Richard “Dick” Marinus Willett, age 79 of Webster, passed away on October 10, 2009. He is preceded in death by his parents, Edwin M. & Esther (Barquist) Willett. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Carolyn; sons, Dave Willett & his wife DeeAnn, Steve Willett & his wife Tina, and Doug Willett & his wife Cheryl; daughter, Kim Sullivan & her husband Jim; sisters, Mary Ann Diehl and Barbara Seyfarth; grandchildren, Lee Willett, Aaron Willett, Stephanie Willett, Jason Sullivan, Ashley Sullivan Grube, Brandon Snyder, Carolyn Willett, Noah Willett, Zachary Willett, & Austen Willett; and a host of many other family & friends. Richard was born on November 13, 1929 in Rock Island, Illinois. He resided in Texas since 1989. Dick proudly served the United States in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. He attended the University of Iowa where he received his Bachelor’s of Science in Physics. A few years later he attended Iowa State University where he received his Masters and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. minor in Aeronautical Engineering. For more than twenty years, Dick was a professor at Iowa State University. In addition to his teaching career, he was employed by the following companies: North American Aviation, Bendix, Honeywell, Martin Marietta and Johnson Engineering, a contractor for NASA, where he did research on control systems. Dick and Carolyn enjoyed 55 years of marriage together. They loved spending time with their family sharing their passion for sailing and sailboat racing. Dick was a stickler for using the proper nautical terms and passed on this accuracy to his children. Throughout the years, they traveled extensively and during retirement, drove their RV around the country visiting maritime museums and lighthouses. Dick was an avid reader, interested in all types of history, and even wrote a book about a young man during the Revolutionary War titled, Privateer. His grandchildren affectionately called him “Grandpa”. Dick will be fondly remembered for his wonderful memories and accomplishments and will be sadly missed by all those who knew and loved him. A Memorial Service for Richard will be held on Monday, October 19, 2009 at 10:30 am in the Community Room at The Terrace at Clear Lake, 780 W. Bay Area Blvd., Webster, TX 77598, 281-316-9055. Rev. Jack D. Ewing Jr. will be officiating. Interment will follow at 12:30 pm at Houston National Cemetery in Houston, Texas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in Richard’s honor to: The Alzheimer’s Association, 2242 West Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030-2008, 713-266-6400 or online, www.alz.org/texas.