Dick B. Trefny

Dick was born in Chicago on June 30th, 1927 and spent his early years growing up in North Chicago. At the age of 17, in August of 1944, he enlisted in the Army. He was sent to an engineering school for field artillery. He was discharged in 1946 and continued pursuing his Aeronautical Engineering degree. He met Janice Wrinkle whom he would marry in 1950. He received a fellowship from the University of Washington and moved to Seattle where daughter, Doris Anne was born in 1951. After graduating from U of W he accepted a job with McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis where Rick Jr. was born in 1953. He became a professor at Parks Collage and taught there until accepting a job with the Boeing Company in 1965 back in Seattle. He lost his daughter to brain cancer in 1972 followed by wife Jane in 1979. He subsequently remarried in 1980 to Nancy Phelps. He retired from the Boeing company in 1989. Nancy passed away in 1998. After Rick retired in 2008 he moved to Billings, Montana and had been residing in Morning Star assisted living facility since 2014. He passed away peacefully on July 21st, 2023. He is survived by son, Rick, and his wife Dorota. Donations or contributions in his memory can be made to Wounded Warriors Project.