Richard "Dick" Durward

Richard "Dick" Durward

"Old Meat in the Pot" is spouting fire and game bags are bursting once again for Richard "Dick" Durward. Dick passed-on peacefully, in his home, this past Saturday, November 13, 2010, with his wife of forty years, Audree, by his side. Some have said that he's happily pulling levers at the Heaven-Can-Wait Casino, but others beg to differ. They say that without a doubt, he's walking tall and proud among the evergreens and along the Hogbacks, with some of the best company you or I have ever known.
Dick was born on October 31, 1920 to Linus and Virginia Durward. He grew up on the Steamboat Peninulsa and attended Griffin School and Olympia Highschool. After highschool, Dick worked as a machinist and mechanic in Olympia. Not long after that, he became a timber faller working throughout western Washington. Later, he moved his wife and two children to a remote logging camp on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, and continued as a timber faller there. By all accounts, it was quite an adventure. The Durwards returned to Olympia in the mid nineteen fifties and Dick continued to work in the woods until he opened a saw shop on Steamboat Island Road in 1960. Two years later, he answered an ad in Outdoor Life Magazine for a "Honda Dealer Wanted". With that, Capital Honda was born and became Dick's business for the next two plus decades. He sold the shop and retired from selling motorcycles in the mid nineteen eighties.
In addition to the many hats Dick wore during his years of work, he also found time to serve as Fire Chief for the newly formed (at that time), Griffin Fire Department, as well as, serving as Grand Master for the Prosperity Grange.
Dick dearly loved hunting deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and moose; anyone who knew hin knew that he was a heck of a shot. He took the art of the hunt and the shot seriously. It wasn't just sport in the woods, hunting helped feed his family, especially in his early years. He hunted from about the time he was out of diapers, up until his last big trip to Montana, for deer and elk, in 2006.
When Dick and Audree retired from Capital Honda, they spent a great deal of time traveling around to see family and friends. From Alaska to Arizona, and most places in between, they were seen rolling along with their pickup, travel trailer, and all that could go in it. When he wasn't out on an adventure, Dick enjoyed his time at home. He even experimented with making wine and was was an expert at smoking salmon.
Dick had just celebrated his ninetieth birthday with friends and family at Little Creek Casino on October 31. He will be dearly missed.
He was preceded in death by his step-son, Albert Dean Singer; father, Linus Durward; mother, Virginia Peterson; brother, Ray Durward, as well as Ray's wife, Francis.
Richard leaves behind his beloved wife, Audree; son, Richard (Gay), of Olympia; daughter, Lynda Mehrer (Vern), of Kenniwick; step-son, Ron Singer (Gail), of Shelton; two step-daughters; Brenda Cruickshank (Tom), of Alaska, and Pam Reeves (Mike), of Aberdeen; foster son, Rick Snyder, of Olympia; two brothers, Bill, of Tumwater, and Max (Nina), of Gig Harbor; eight grandchildren, Alisha, Evie, Frank, Garrett, Jim, Kelli, Michael, and Misty; seven great-grandchildren, Adrianne, Annabelle, Clementine, Dale, Hali, Lexi, and McKenzie; and many, many friends and associates too numerous to count.
A Memorial Service will be held for Dick on Friday, November 19, 2010, at noon, at Mills and Mills Funeral Home in Tumwater. A reception to follow at the Prosperity Grange, Steamboat Island Road. Donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or any cancer treatment/prevention organization.