Richard M. Vanderwall

Richard M. Vanderwall Sr., 93

Dick Vanderwall passed away Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. He was the firstborn son of Forest and Mary Vanderwall. He began his life on May 8, 1921, on the Pottawatomi Indian Reservation near Delia, Kan. The family moved to Soldier, then settled on the Wykert homestead, where he lived through graduation from Soldier Rural High School in 1939.
Enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1940, Dick was stationed at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, assigned to USS Indianapolis. Fortunately, Indianapolis was out of port on that fateful day. He later served as a helmsman on other ships, including USS Los Angeles, where he piloted the ship through the Panama Canal and the Yangtze River in China. Dick was featured in "World War II Legacies: Stories of Northeast Indiana Veterans," written by Kayleen Reusser. (www.kayreusser.worldpress.com)
During the war, Dick met the love of his life, Erma Hunt, in South Bend, Ind., where they married in April 1946, shortly after VJ Day. They soon started a family with the birth of the first of six children. The support and nurture of his family was the central passion for the remainder of his remarkable life.
Dick was also passionate about church, work and community. At First Christian Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., he was an elder emeritus, former chair of the board of trustees, and director of the food bank ministry. Following his graduation from Washburn University, Dick began a career in the life insurance industry. He was awarded Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 1965. He concluded his career at Midwestern United Life Insurance Company as director of advanced sales. Dick also served the community as a volunteer with AARP, SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives), Jaycees and Kiwanis.
Dick loved to read and had a wonderful speaking voice, which he regularly used in church, at schools and at Covington Commons. In fact, he was known as "Mr. Dad" for his reading at Pleasant Center Elementary School.
Surviving are his sister Marilyn Barnes, wife Erma Vanderwall and six children: Jan Vanderwall (Kim), St. Paul, Minn., Marlo Quick (Richard), Fort Wayne, Richard Vanderwall Jr. (Libby), Cedar Falls, Iowa, Bill Vanderwall (Kathy), St. Paul, Grady Vanderwall (Dawn), Fort Wayne, and Jane Rench (Kevin), Wolcottville, Ind. There are also 15 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren, and he danced with every one of them.
Memorials to First Christian Church Food Bank, or Honor Flight of Northeastern Indiana (www.hfnei.org).