Richard Setter

1923 - 2021

Richard Setter
November 23, 1923 - June 14, 2021
Bellingham, Washington - Richard Alonzo Setter
11/23/1923—6/14/2021
Dick Setter, 97, passed away peacefully under the gracious care of the Staff at Whatcom Hospice House.
Ann, his wife of 70 years, predeceased him in 2017. He is survived by his son MacDuffie Setter (Wendy), his daughters Susan Setter and Catherine Setter; grandchildren: Ben Setter and Britt Burton (Casey) and great grandchildren, Beckett and Piper Burton.
Dick grew up in Cattaraugus, N.Y. attending Middlebury College in Vermont in engineering until WWII when he entered the army. He was a combat veteran with the 397th Regiment of the 1st Battalion serving as a Staff Sergeant in France and Germany.
On returning home, he was employed with Setter Brothers, Inc., and a division manager with US Plywood and Champion International retiring as the CEO of Welsh Corp. in Longview WA when he entered a variety of vocations including running a gillnetter, a crabber, an oyster hatchery and a worm farm in Bay Center, WA. On retiring fully, he and Ann divided their time between Green Valley AZ and Bellingham WA where they spent each summer together aboard their trawlers Sonora I and II cruising through the San Juans, the Canadian Gulf Islands and up through the Queen Charlottes.
He and Ann were familiar figures at the Harbor into their 90s. They were deeply devoted to each other. Dick was always engaging and interested in the views of others, especially his grandchildren. He dreamed large and often smiled quietly to himself when family and friends would suggest that he could slow down a bit. One of his most treasured activities was reading. At the time he passed, he was reading a book about how trees communicate with each other. He will be missed.