Richard Amos Dyar

Dick was one of the hardest working individuals I have ever known. He was also one of the nicest persons I have ever known. He was a tremendous educator and an asset to the Teaching Profession. I had the honor of being one of his students at SHS and also one of his colleagues at OVHS.
Dick had a full and rewarding life. I know he will be missed by Rick, Larry and their families but I also know that Dick is having a glorious reunion with his beloved wife Sue and his son Dan.
Godspeed Mr. Dyar, you were loved by many including the entire Stanley Family.

Mr. Dyar meant so much to me as a student and later as an adult. As a student I loved his biology class. He introduced me to a world I have come to love...the world of science. His class and his manner inspired me to inject tons of science lessons to my students K-6. When he introduced dissection of frogs to us, he chose me as the first student to come up and select a frog, all of which were crammed into a five gallon bucket. He looked at me as if to say, "Hmmm, I wonder how this girl is going to react to these frog specimens?" I grinned up at him and thrust my arm through all those frogs all the way to the bottom of the bucket to find the thinnest one I could. He had warned us that "fat" frogs might be females with lots of eggs to remove. When I brought up my frog, he grinned as if I had met his challenge and found a good specimen. When I was a junior class officer I worked with him a lot as he was our class sponsor. He was great to work with, putting in extra time and encouraging us to go for "big stuff". Later as an adult, I loved talking to him at the gate as I would bring my granddaughters to McCormick's Creek pool. When I retired from teaching, I was given a limited number of people I wanted to attend my retirement party. Of course, I sent an invitation to my science mentor, Mr. Dyar. The day before the party, I was called to the school office with the message that a man with a DNR uniform wanted to talk to me. I had been working with the Indiana DNR with my students on an outdoor lab. So, I was expecting to see one of them. I was so pleasantly surprised to see Mr. Dyar. He told me he could not come to my party, but he wanted to come congratulate me. Of course, I introduced him to my class and shared with them he was the reason for all their science lessons, and experiments. They applauded. I just cried. It meant so much to see him in my classroom. In working with the Dept. of Education of Indiana, I have had to write some articles involving learning and education. In preparing for those articles, I realized that learning is much more than the day to day interactions in the classroom, learning is like a legacy often handed down through generations of educators, dedicated and passionate about teaching. Mr. Dyar was a huge part of that learning legacy in Indiana. He taught so many, so much. I feel humbled, grateful and happy that I was part of his chain, and proud that I have kept his legacy going. As long as students enjoy learning through science, Mr. Dyar will always be a part of us.

I offer my condolences to the family of Mr Dyar. Dick was a great influence in the Owen County area. He will always be remembered as a plliar of society.
My personal connection was through Mr Dyar as my Human Anatomy teacher, I believe that was the 1st year this class was taught at OVHS in 1976. He was a no nonsense instructor and a pleasure to have as a teacher. He encouraged his students and challenged them to do their best. He created a level of respect that promoted you to do your best.
Again I am sorry for your loss. You were blessed to have him in your life. He made a difference in society for the better. May Mr Dyar be fully rewarded for his life well lived and reflected Christ in his daily walk.