Richard Dean “Dick” Amel, 95, Green Bay, passed away on Monday, May 11, 2015. He was born on April 7, 1920, in Shawano to Marvin and Evelyn (Kuester) Amel.
Dick survived a childhood as the only boy in a house with four sisters and one bathroom. He graduated from Shawano High School in 1938, attended the Marinette Vocational School for a year and then enrolled in the Wisconsin Mining School at Platteville, where he received a diploma in mining engineering in 1942. He met his future wife, Mary Katherine “Kate” Cox, while working for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation during the summer of 1942 in Minong.
Dick served four years in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II on Canton Island in the South Pacific and on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. He was honorably discharged in 1946, having achieved the rank of first lieutenant. Upon his return to Wisconsin, he and Kate were married in Eau Claire in 1946. They were happily married for more than 68 years and raised four children.
Soon after their wedding, Dick and Kate moved to Rolla, Missouri, where Dick finished his education at the Missouri School of Mines, receiving his degree in mining engineering later that year. In 1947, he worked for Magnolia Oil Company of Dallas, doing oil exploration in Texas, Oklahoma and Wyoming. In 1948, the couple returned to Wisconsin, where Dick was employed as a highway engineer for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s Green Bay office. He worked for the Wisconsin DOT for 36 years, retiring in 1983.
After retirement, Dick enjoyed many years of hunting, fishing and planting trees “up north.” He and Kate owned and operated a 160-acre tree farm in Oconto County that was his pride and joy. Dick was a member of the American Tree Farm Association and even sponsored a bill in the state Legislature promoting tree farming. It became a tradition for him to spend the opening days of hunting season and fishing season with friends and family at the cabin in the woods.
Dick was a member of Christ Episcopal Church, where he served on the vestry and taught Sunday School, and later became an active member of Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church.
Dick is survived by his wife, Kate, Green Bay; his daughters and sons, Susan Kellicut, Orlando, Florida, Cynthia May, Madison, Gary (Jill Gmack), Green Bay, and Dean (Terry Savela), Arlington, Virginia; his sister, Jeanne Hintz, Clintonville; grandchildren, Corrinna (Dana Fleischmann), Velissa (Chad Jewell), Jonathan, Jennifer (Mark Ronsman), Allison and Alex; great-grandchildren, Josslyn, Vanden, Jayna, Dax and Zoey; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his sisters, Rachel Williamson, Mary Slichter and Jewell Hainey, and his son-in-law, John Kellicut.
Dick was a man of great integrity, with an impressive work ethic and a wonderful sense of humor. He has left behind a legacy of clever sayings and rejoinders for any and all occasions. Dick’s unique brand of wisdom, and his love for all those close to him, will survive in the fond memories of his family and friends.
The family will be greeting friends and relatives at Blessed Sacrament Episcopal Church, 825 N. Webster Ave., Green Bay, from 9-11 a.m. Friday. The Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday at the church. Burial will follow at Woodlawn Shawano City Cemetery.
Blaney Funeral Home is assisting the family.
To send online condolences, please go to www.BlaneyFuneralHome.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations to be made to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Sciences.
The family expresses their sincere gratitude to the staff of Marla Vista for their compassionate care.
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