Richard Henry Dittman
Richard Henry Dittman
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Richard Dittman Obituary
Location: Weymouth Funeral Home
Richard Henry Dittman died on December 19, 2025, at the age of 88, in Newport News, Virginia. He was born to Henry and Mary Dittman in Sacramento, California. Richard grew up in Pollock Pines, California and graduated from Santa Clara University. He earned a PhD in physics from the University of Notre Dame and after a short time working in Berlin, Germany, taught physics and astronomy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) until his retirement in the late 1990s.
He co-authored two textbooks, and he especially enjoyed introducing physics to the thousands of nursing majors and others who had to take it as a requirement. He loved showing the fun side of science to an audience – instantly freezing a banana in liquid nitrogen or lying on a bed of nails to demonstrate physics concepts. He was an avid model-railroader, read extensively, biked, and square-danced. He walked to work every day, helped anyone who asked, and was never one to leave a party early.
Richard is survived by his wife, Patricia Dittman of Newport News; his daughters, Susanna (Mark) Kelley and Veronica (Alex) Dittman Stanich; his grandchildren, Ivy and Philip Stanich; and his siblings Carla Sanborn, Dennis Dittman, and David Dittman, as well as his "bonus" children, Teresa (Monte) Robinson, Chris Buoncristiani, and Martin (Brenda) Buoncristiani and their children, Emma Fields-Robinson (Elizabeth), Willard Robinson (Madison), Nicholas Buoncristiani, Michael Buoncristiani, Justin (Ashley) Matthews, and Jessica Ray(Quest).
His first wife, Maria Matild (Keszler) Dittman preceded him in death in 2005.
A Memorial Service will be held at 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 23, 2025 at Weymouth Funeral Home in Newport News. If you wish, a donation to St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Back Door Kitchen (https://peninsulacluster.org/backdoor-meals-ministry/) would be much appreciated.
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12746 Nettles Drive, Newport News, VA 23606
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