Richard William Wiebe

     Richard William Wiebe, 94, of Middletown, passed away on Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at Water’s Edge Center For Health and Rehabilitation. Born in Newark, NJ on June 4, 1924, he was the son of the late William Frederick and Esther Victoria (Jacobson) Wiebe. Dick was predeceased by his wife of seventy years, Pearl Caroline (Lehnes) Wiebe, who was his constant companion since they first met in September of 1939 while walking their dogs in Lyndhurst, NJ.

    Dick is survived by a son, Richard Wade Wiebe and his wife Laurel of Wellington, FL; a daughter, Pamela Lynn Wiebe Lehn and her husband Stephan of Wethersfield, CT; five grandchildren, Rosson Wayne Wiebe and his wife Daisy, Ryan William Wiebe and his wife Anna, Ashley Kristen Lehn DePeau and her husband Edward, Richard Willard Wiebe and his wife Jean Margaret, and Graham Justin Lehn and his wife Kimberly; nine great grandchildren, Ava DePeau, Edward DePeau, IV, Nikoli Ryan Wiebe, Nikita Waylon Wiebe, Logan Richard Lehn, Max Jordan Lehn, Sky Radford Wiebe, Dahlia Madison Wiebe and Wave Milo Wiebe; a brother, Alwyn Frederick Wiebe and his wife Kathie and a sister, Miriam Victoria Oakes.

     Dick was educated in elementary schools in Newark, NJ and graduated from Lyndhurst High School, Lyndhurst, NJ in 1942. In 1943, he joined the U.S. Army and became a B-17 pilot in November 1944 and trained navigators for B-29 Pacific Missions. In 1945, he joined the Air Traffic Command as a Traffic Officer serving in Salzburg, Austria and Rome, Italy and was honorably discharged in 1946.

     On March 29, 1947 in Lyndhurst, NJ, he married the love of his life, Pearl. Dick then joined Eastern Airlines in 1947 and worked in New York City until moving to the air cargo section at Newark, NJ. In 1950, he joined Emery Air Freight Corp as a supervisor for the three New York Airports, Idlewild (now JFK), LaGuardia, and Newark. Dick then went on to become Manager for Emery Air Freight in Albany, NY and next became Assistant to John C. Emery, Jr. in the Emery home office in New York City. In 1961, Emery moved their home office to Wilton, CT where Dick became Assistant to the Vice President in charge of advertising, public relations, sales promotions and direct mail.

    After 30 years with Emery Air Freight he retired and became a consultant for Emery and other companies to handle their meetings and conventions. Dick and his wife operated their own consulting company PR Ltd (Pearl and Richard Limited). Pearl was Vice President of the company and together they worked on meetings and conventions all over the USA and several international locations. Dick oversaw all visual aids and logistics while Pearl handled all eating functions and floral arrangements.

     In 1988, he fully retired and moved to Wilmington, NC, where he worked for nurseries and Farmer’s Supply Company. He was active in volunteer work and meals-on-wheels. Dick was charter member of the Senior Men’s Club of Wilmington, an elder in the Presbyterian Church, a friend of Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church in Carolina Beach, NC and a friend of the Little Chapel on the Boardwalk at Wrightsville Beach, NC.

     On October 16, 2010 Dick and his wife moved to Wolcott, CT, where they rented the home of their old friends of fifty years, Jean and Terry Dowling. On July 15, 201, they moved to Luther Ridge in Middletown, CT, to be closer to their daughter.

     Funeral services and burial will be private and at the convenience of the family. There will be no calling hours and in lieu of flowers donations may be made in Dick’s memory to the Wolcott Congregational Church, 185 Center Street, Wolcott, CT 06716 or the Carolina Beach Presbyterian Church, 1209 North Lake Park Blvd, Carolina Beach, NC 28428.

     To share memories or send condolences, please visit www.doolittlefuneralservice.com .

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Richard William Wiebe, please visit our floral store.