John Richard "Dick" Yetke Jr.
John Richard "Dick" Yetke Jr.
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Loving husband of 60 years to Janice Rising Yetke. Dear father of Gretchen (Lane) Greever, Kristin (Brad) Schmidt. Adored grandfather of Carson and Ainsley Greever, Benjamin and Carly Schmidt. Brother of Bill Yetke, David Yetke and Paula Yetke VanWart. Dick also leaves behind many friends from around the world, U.S. Coast Guard classmates and extended family members.
Dick grew up in Bristol, CT and attended Bristol High School, class of 1959. He went on to graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1963. Dick then served in the U.S. Coast Guard for four years on the USCG Cutters, Escanaba and Unimak.
Before starting his career in commercial real estate development, Dick earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. He worked on many different projects over the years but his specialty was shopping center development.
Dick met the love of his life, Janice, in 1962 in New London, CT. The two were married on August 1, 1964 in the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Chapel. Together they moved to Golden Valley, Minnesota and started a family. Dick took great pleasure in being a father and grandfather and made sure that they all knew how to sail.
Dick was a long-time member of the Naperville Exchange Club and always enjoyed helping to plan the annual Ribfest in Knoch Park. In his free time, Dick liked to bike and travel the world.
In lieu of flowers, donations to U.S. Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, Class of 1963 Endowment Fund, 47 Mohegan Ave, New London, CT 06320 or First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1108 Oswego Road, Naperville, IL 60540 would be appreciated.
The family will be hosting a Memorial Visitation on Friday June 14 2024 from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM with a Memorial Service at 5:00 PM at Friedrich Jones Funeral Home, 44 S. Mill St., Naperville, IL 60540. After the service, Dick's remains will be buried at sea by the U.S. Coast Guard. For more information, please call 630-355-0213.
To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of John, please visit our floral store.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
4 Entries
Karla Anderson
June 9, 2024
How lucky we were to grow up sailing the Great Lakes with the Yetkes when we were kids as part of the Chrysler 22 Club. We had so many great adventures and always had fun exploring islands, swimming off the boat, talking on our CB´s, etc. And of course who could forget the time Kristen and I had to walk the plank back to the boat in the BVI after a waiter accidentally served us a "real" margarita when we were 9 years old. I look back now at the photos of the best times climbing in lighthouse lights, hanging over cliffs, etc and think what were our parents thinking! So many great memories with your family. Thank you!!!
Dee & Wells Wescott
May 27, 2024
Our first memory of Dick was as our next door neighbor aboard the MS Amsterdam in 2007. This is followed by numerous Magic Tricks at the dinner table, along with buying Indonesian shirts like the ones Wells has.
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