Richard "Dick" Kittridge

1935 - 2021

Richard "Dick" Kittridge, 86, passed from this life on Wednesday, May 19, 2021, at home in Grand Island, surrounded by his wife, Jane, and his five children.
Mass of Christian burial will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Leo's Catholic Church. The Rev. Donald A. Buhrman and the Rev. Charles L. Torpey will concelebrate. Interment will be in the Grand Island City Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday, with a vigil service at 7. Memorials are suggested to Grand Island Central Catholic or the donor's choice. Your thoughts may be given and his video viewed at www.curranfuneralchapel.com under Dick's obituary. Curran Funeral Chapel is assisting the family.
Dick was born April 22, 1935, to John P. and Alice (Stout) Kittridge at their farm in Greeley County, near O'Connor Catholic Church. He was raised on the family farm and was educated at nearby O'Connor Catholic School and graduated high school from Greeley Sacred Heart in 1953.
In 1957, Dick was united in marriage to Jane Wood, also of Greeley. After graduating from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1958 and a brief stint teaching and coaching in Shelby, where their first child was born, the family eventually settled in Grand Island, adding four more children.
Joining Meyer's Farm Equipment in 1961, Dick was a bookkeeper, then managed the company for many years, retiring from there in 1987. Following his retirement from Meyer's, Dick managed and maintained various family real estate endeavors, including his beloved farming operations. His love of the land also shone through in his recreational and athletic pursuits, such as hunting, fishing and skiing.
First and foremost, Dick was a faith-filled man whose life was one lived with the utmost integrity and one wholly concerned with family and their well-being. Dick's faith was a quiet one, mostly demonstrated to those closest to him but also shown externally through his many volunteer efforts primarily centered around Catholic education.
Of the many small and large acts of service and kindness he enacted, without judgment or strings attached, Dick would brush off any thanks and tell the grateful recipient to please just pass it on and help someone else in need when the time comes. Though no saint, Dick's quick wit and playful spirit was with him always and has been passed down through the subsequent generations.
Although Dick will be missed as a husband, father, brother, uncle and friend, his legacy will undoubtedly live on through those whose lives he touched.
Dick is survived by wife, Jane (Wood) Kittridge; son, Robert Kittridge; and daughters, Karen Johnson, Mary Jane (Jim) Partington and Carol (Jim) Meyer, all of Grand Island, and Julie (Charlie) Burt of Omaha. Surviving grandchildren are Kurt Johnson, Jake (Brooke) Johnson, Kellon Johnson, Joe (Sara) Partington and daughters Mya and Madi, John Partington, Jamie (Carter) Eberhardt and daughter Elena, Casey Wiens, Jessica Wiens, Brett Wiens, Alexandra Burt, Sam Burt and Audrey Burt. He is also survived by a brother, Gerald "Jerry" Kittridge of Omaha.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents; two infant sisters; sister, Mary Alice Donovan; brother, Thomas Kittridge; and granddaughter, Jaclyn Partington.