Richard Eugene Dyer Sr., the father of newly ordained Father
Richard Dyer, died at his home Dec. 28, just one day after
witnessing his son’s ordination to the priesthood by
Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde. Dyer was 77.
Dyer was born Dec. 7, 1934, in Niles, Mich., to the late
Vernon H. and Ruth A. Young Dyer.
He attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., and
later graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in
geodetic science.
For 31 years, Dyer served in the U.S. Air Force as a colonel
during the Vietnam War, a C-130 gunship pilot and a
comptroller of the former Strategic Air Command. During his
military career, he received numerous medals including a
Legion of Merit and three Distinguished Flying Crosses.
Following his retirement, Dyer worked as a defense
contractor. For the past six years, he resided in Culpeper,
where he was a parishioner of Precious Blood Church and a
member of the Knights of Columbus.
Dyer is survived by his wife, Justine Ellen Kovacs Dyer, and
their four children, Deborah Ann Bauers and her husband,
Robert, of Spotsylvania; Father Dyer of Mount St. Mary’s
Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md.; Michael David Dyer and his wife,
Heather, of Avon, Conn.; and Reneé Elizabeth Forero
and her husband, Francesco, of Gainesville.
Additional survivors include two sisters, Gladys Staniszewski
and her husband, Joe, and Donna Mae Herget and her husband,
Bob; and six grandchildren: Victoria and Shannon Bauers,
Brianna and Brendan Dyer, and Juliana and Joshua Forero. Dyer
was preceded in death by his parents and his brother,
Charles.
A funeral Mass was offered Monday by Father Richard Dyer at
Precious Blood. Interment was scheduled for Jan. 4 at
Arlington National Cemetery. Dyer was to be buried with full
military honors and a 21-gun salute.
Go to
catholicherald.com/stories/A-last-wish-fulfilled,17664 for
the story of Ftaher Richard Dyer’s ordination.
