Richard Applegate

Richard "Dick" Craig Applegate, a 44-year resident of Annapolis and formerly of South Orange, NJ died April 24 at home. Born January 29, 1926 in West Orange, NJ, Dick was one of five boys. His parents died when he was two and he was raised by his aunt and uncle. He received a B.A. from Oregon State and a M.A. from George Washington University. Dick joined the Navy after Pearl Harbor and served for 21 years, including tours of duty in World War II and the Korean War. He retired as a Commander. He taught business administration at Seton Hall University and Columbia University, where he was a doctoral candidate before coming to Maryland in 1969 to serve as Vice President of Finance at Catholic University in Washington D.C. He and Bette, his wife of 63 years, raised six children together and they traveled throughout Europe and the United States. Upon his retirement, they traced many pioneer trails by air in their Cessna airplane, including the Applegate Trail in Oregon, which was blazed by his ancestors as an alternate to the Oregon Trail. He was active in the Chesapeake Pilots Association for many years and was a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts of America. Dick was interested in family genealogy and traveled abroad to research his family's roots. In addition to travel, flying, scouting, and genealogy, he enjoyed sailing on the Chesapeake on the family's boat, Pau Hana, hot air ballooning, poetry, reading, crosswords, fixing things around the house and spending time with friends and relatives. Dick was preceded in death by Bette, who died in May, 2013, and his son, David Applegate, who died in 1971; He is survived by three sons, Douglas (Ann) Applegate of Springfield, VA, and Stephen (Cindy) Applegate and James (Cindy) Applegate, both of Annapolis; two daughters, Jeanne Applegate (Gordon Ferrari) of Annapolis and Mary Applegate of Arnold; brother, Craig Carter of Odessa, FL; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m., Monday April 29 at Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis. A Funeral Mass will be held 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, April 30 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in Annapolis. Interment at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations in Dick's name may be made to the Hospice of the Cheaspeake, 445 Defense Hwy., Annapolis, MD 21401. Online condolences may be made to www.johnmtaylorfuneralhome.com