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Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 1, 2015 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 2, 2015, 10:00 AM at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 1200 Alps Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
Richard A. Stansfield (Dick), age 73, of Wayne, died peacefully on Thursday, February 26, 2015.
Born in Attleboro, MA, Dick grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and graduated in 1963 with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Rhode Island. While there, he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and, as a member of ROTC, he attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
Following graduation, Dick joined the U.S. Army and proudly served in Vietnam in the 1st Calvary Division Air Mobile Unit. Upon his return from Vietnam, he served as a Reservist with the NJ National Guard, then with the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in New York from 1985 to1995, serving tours of duty in Cameroon, West Africa, Germany and Norway. He was a member of the Army Reserve Officers Association. He retired from the military after thirty-two years of proud service to his country, having attained the rank of Colonel. Over the course of his military career, he was the recipient of the Vietnam Service Metal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Dick also enjoyed a career that spanned 33 years in various management positions with Brooklyn Union Gas Company (now Keyspan). After retiring, he operated a furniture repair and refinishing company in Butler for several years. Being the perfectionist that he was, he repaired and refinished each piece of furniture as if it was going to be used to furnish the White House.
Dick was a resident of Pompton Plains for almost thirty years and served on the Pequannock Twsp. School Board in 1982. He moved to the Packanack Lake Section of Wayne in 1995. He was a member of Wayne Presbyterian Church and served on the Board of Deacons for many years.
Dick was a man with many hobbies and interests. With his gift for playing the piano, friends and colleagues loved having Dick at their parties and get-togethers. He’d gladly get behind the keyboard and apply his own personal musical style and interpretation to whatever he played. Dick loved to be outdoors working in his gardens. As a member of the Master Gardeners Association of Passaic County, he grew both flowers and almost any vegetable you could imagine. Of course, with great gardening comes a plentiful harvest and with that comes the opportunity to cook. Dick enjoyed spending equal time in the kitchen, preparing meals from his fresh produce. He also had a keen interest in learning about his family’s history and once while being engrossed in a time of genealogical research, he learned that he was a descendant of the founder of Dick’s home state of Rhode Island and staunch advocate of religious toleration and separation of church and state – Roger Williams. Dick subsequently became a member of the Roger Williams Family Association.
Of course, when one considers how many places his military life took him, it’s no surprise that Dick was also a travel enthusiast. During the course of his lifetime, he traveled to many parts of the world including Germany, Holland, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Dick also enjoyed cruising with his wife and family and the most recent cruise took him to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and France.
Dick was an avid skier and enjoyed skiing in New England in his early years and then later in Colorado and Utah. He was proud to have been a member of the National Ski Patrol.
Dick is survived by his beloved wife of 18 years, Ruth (nee Friesema); his daughter Susan and husband Tracy Cole of Butler, and his son Douglas and wife Sally Stansfield of Stillwater, NJ; his wife Ruth’s three sons: Jeff and wife Mary Goudsward of Woxall, PA, Kevin Goudsward of Green Lane, PA, and Todd and wife Jennifer Goudsward of Harleysville, PA; and eighteen grandchildren.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Richard’s name are asked to consider the Wayne Presbyterian Church or the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage, NY 11714.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 1, 2015 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 2, 2015, 10:00 AM at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 1200 Alps Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
Services
Friends may visit with the family at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Sunday, March 1, 2015 from 2-6 PM.
Funeral Services will be held on Monday, March 2, 2015, 10:00 AM at Wayne Presbyterian Church, 1200 Alps Road, Wayne. Interment will follow at Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa.
Richard A. Stansfield (Dick), age 73, of Wayne, died peacefully on Thursday, February 26, 2015.
Born in Attleboro, MA, Dick grew up in Pawtucket, Rhode Island and graduated in 1963 with a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Rhode Island. While there, he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and, as a member of ROTC, he attained the rank of 2nd Lieutenant.
Following graduation, Dick joined the U.S. Army and proudly served in Vietnam in the 1st Calvary Division Air Mobile Unit. Upon his return from Vietnam, he served as a Reservist with the NJ National Guard, then with the 353rd Civil Affairs Command in New York from 1985 to1995, serving tours of duty in Cameroon, West Africa, Germany and Norway. He was a member of the Army Reserve Officers Association. He retired from the military after thirty-two years of proud service to his country, having attained the rank of Colonel. Over the course of his military career, he was the recipient of the Vietnam Service Metal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Legion of Merit.
Dick also enjoyed a career that spanned 33 years in various management positions with Brooklyn Union Gas Company (now Keyspan). After retiring, he operated a furniture repair and refinishing company in Butler for several years. Being the perfectionist that he was, he repaired and refinished each piece of furniture as if it was going to be used to furnish the White House.
Dick was a resident of Pompton Plains for almost thirty years and served on the Pequannock Twsp. School Board in 1982. He moved to the Packanack Lake Section of Wayne in 1995. He was a member of Wayne Presbyterian Church and served on the Board of Deacons for many years.
Dick was a man with many hobbies and interests. With his gift for playing the piano, friends and colleagues loved having Dick at their parties and get-togethers. He’d gladly get behind the keyboard and apply his own personal musical style and interpretation to whatever he played. Dick loved to be outdoors working in his gardens. As a member of the Master Gardeners Association of Passaic County, he grew both flowers and almost any vegetable you could imagine. Of course, with great gardening comes a plentiful harvest and with that comes the opportunity to cook. Dick enjoyed spending equal time in the kitchen, preparing meals from his fresh produce. He also had a keen interest in learning about his family’s history and once while being engrossed in a time of genealogical research, he learned that he was a descendant of the founder of Dick’s home state of Rhode Island and staunch advocate of religious toleration and separation of church and state – Roger Williams. Dick subsequently became a member of the Roger Williams Family Association.
Of course, when one considers how many places his military life took him, it’s no surprise that Dick was also a travel enthusiast. During the course of his lifetime, he traveled to many parts of the world including Germany, Holland, England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Dick also enjoyed cruising with his wife and family and the most recent cruise took him to Turkey, Greece, Italy, Spain and France.
Dick was an avid skier and enjoyed skiing in New England in his early years and then later in Colorado and Utah. He was proud to have been a member of the National Ski Patrol.
Dick is survived by his beloved wife of 18 years, Ruth (nee Friesema); his daughter Susan and husband Tracy Cole of Butler, and his son Douglas and wife Sally Stansfield of Stillwater, NJ; his wife Ruth’s three sons: Jeff and wife Mary Goudsward of Woxall, PA, Kevin Goudsward of Green Lane, PA, and Todd and wife Jennifer Goudsward of Harleysville, PA; and eighteen grandchildren.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Richard’s name are asked to consider the Wayne Presbyterian Church or the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage, NY 11714.
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