Richard H. Dewing

1928 - 2021

Richard H. Dewing
Durham - Richard H. Dewing of Durham, NH died April 15, 2021.
Richard ("Dick") Dewing was born August 7, 1928 in Tewksbury, MA and was the son of William H. and Loella (Farmer) Dewing. He attended Tewksbury schools graduating from Tewksbury High School in 1947 and later was inducted into the Tewksbury Athletics Hall of Fame.
Thereafter, he attended Tilton School, NH, followed by the University of Georgia before transferring to the University of New Hampshire, where he graduated with a B.A. in 1953 and was later inducted into the UNH Hall of Fame for Athletics as well as the UNH ROTC Hall of Fame.
He met his wife, Mary Lundberg, while attending UNH and they married June 13, 1953, in Concord, NH.
He entered the Air Force in 1953 and served for 20 years as a pilot and fully qualified aircraft maintenance officer. He earned his Command Pilot wings, having completed the required 15 years of service and 3,000 hours of flying time, and exceeded 8,000 hours of flying time during his career, mostly in cargo and transport aircraft. During his service, he earned the Air Medal with six Oak Leaf Clusters.
While deployed to Viet Nam, he flew 1195 sorties, approximately 200 of which were combat sorties. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross as well as a Marine Presidential Unit Citation for combat missions, flying Marines in and out of zones under heavy enemy fire. For the last few years of his active-duty career, he flew KC-135s, performing in-flight refueling missions. Retiring in 1973, he settled with his family in Durham, NH.
Dick's service to the University of New Hampshire has been passionate and diverse. He served for several years as a local alumni representative for the Memorial Union Advisory Board, as an advisor and trustee for Acacia Fraternity at UNH, as a member and Secretary of the UNH 100 Club (dedicated to providing athletic scholarships at UNH) and the subsequent Wildcat Athletic Council and as a member of the Cat Club. He was also a member of the UNH ROTC Alumni Chapter Advisory Board and planned the UNH Veterans Day ceremony for ten consecutive years. He also worked as a volunteer for over 15 years at all UNH home football games on the crew manning the yardage chains.
Dick has also recently been seen firing the cannon in full colonial costume in all weather at the UNH home games, in celebration of points scored by the UNH football team.
Dick was also a member of the 1st Newmarket Colonial Militia Co., with whom he visited local schools to teach children about life in the 18th century, marched in numerous parades, and greeted tall ships visiting Portsmouth.
Dick Dewing made many contributions to seacoast communities in the State of New Hampshire. He volunteered in many different roles to help the town of Durham, having served as a member and Chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee, organized the Durham Easter Egg Hunt and Memorial Day Parade for years, served as a member of the Building Committee for the Jackson's Landing hockey rink and helped with its construction. Dick was also a member of the Lamprey River Advisory Committee for several years and was rewarded for his various civic efforts in 1996, when the New Hampshire Municipal Association recognized him as Volunteer of the Year, one of only 11 people honored statewide that year. In 2003 he was also honored by being made a Paul Harris Fellow. In addition, he was President of the Board of Directors of the Durham Historic Association.
He is a 32nd degree Mason (Scottish Rite), a Shriner and Past President of Portsmouth Chapter 386 of the National Sojourners. He is a Past Master of the Rising Star Lodge #47, Newmarket, NH, and the Maj Gen Whipple Military Lodge in Portsmouth, NH.
He and his family also lived in Anchorage Alaska, Lubbock, TX, Fayetteville, NC, Tampa, FL, where his Daughter Janet was born, and Munich, Germany, where his son, Jeff, was born.
Dick tried to leave things better than he found them. He dearly loved his family, his community (both Durham and Tewksbury), and his country.
He was predeceased by his wife of 65 years, Mary Lundberg Dewing, who died in 2018, his son Jeff Dewing who died in 2019, and his daughter, Janet Johnson who died in 2017.
Survivors include his grandson Dan Johnson and his wife Jocelyn of Tewksbury, Mass, his great-grandson, Leo Axel Johnson.
At his request, final observances will be private.
Visit www.kentandpelczarfh.com to sign an online guestbook.