Charles Richard "Dick" Schwartz was born in Anacortes at home to Polly (Haddon) and Harold Schwartz, the first of four children. Harold came to work at PSNS and Dick attended Naval Ave. Elem. School, and graduated from South Kitsap High School in 1939. While riding the Seattle ferry to the UW he encountered buddies on their way to Sitka, Alaska and was talked into leaving on the spot. He told great stories about working in Sitka for the CCC and for his friend Ted Thompson. Dick later salmon-fished with his uncles in Alaska when he had to quit his apprenticeship at PSNS to enlist in the Army Air Corps. After classroom training in St Louis the would-be pilots were at Lubbock, Texas for flight training when WWII ended and new pilots were no longer needed.
Dick hunted and fished with friends Glenn Jarstad, Robert Sutton, Ted Thompson and others who were lifelong friends. He ran into his teenage sweetheart one day in a hardware store in downtown Bremerton and says it was the best connection of his life. Dick and Louise Riggs Tyler were married Nov. 29, 1952. In addition to Louise's two daughters, Jeannie and Joanie, they added Helen, Susan and Dick Jr to the family.
Dick and Louise were always game for an adventure and moved to Guam in 1966 with their three youngest children. Dick worked in the Ship Repair Facility on Guam's Naval Station for 7 years before retiring to a home on Hood Canal. Dick and Louise hosted many high school reunions and family parties at their spacious home on the canal's North Shore.
Their final home together was in Silverdale overlooking the bay where Louise's ashes were scattered after she died of ovarian cancer in 2002. Dick continued to play bridge, cut wood, build furniture and do his own driving and shopping even after his own diagnosis in 2011 with Myelodysplastic Syndrome, a form of blood cancer. He regularly underwent chemo once a month. After a stint in the hospital and rehab he was home for three weeks when he went to Costco and overdid it, straining his wrist, back and neck. It laid him up for a day, leading to an infection and fever which ended in a hospital stay where he died early Saturday morning. He was happy with the life he had lived. His favorite dog Hoss brought him great joy in his final months. And he drew strength from every blood transfusion, giving thanks for the anonymous donors who helped him feel better awhile longer.
Dick is survived by his five children: Jeanne Owen, Joanie O'Neal (Loyd), Helen Schwartz, Susan Chaussee (Steve) and Dick Schwartz, Jr. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and seven great grandchildren, all of Washington and Oregon.