Obituary: Richard ‘Dick’ Philippone

Richard “Dick” Philippone, the beloved patriarch of his family, died peacefully on March 25, at the age of 89.

He was born in January 1925 in Denver, Colo., and lived a rich and fulfilling life with his beloved wife Lois.

To his friends and family, Dick was the busiest man anyone knew from the day he left his father’s house in the 1940s to serve in World War II, until the last hours of his life when he wanted to call his family and say goodbye. After all, he had things to do.

He began his life journey while serving the nation as a signalman in the U.S. Coast Guard during World War II. After the war, Dick graduated from The Colorado School of Mines while majoring in metallurgy, which was the basis for his future work in the nuclear power industry. While in college, he met his future wife Lois at a local dance; they married the day after graduation, raised four children, and were constant companions for the next 64 years until she passed away in 2013.

Dick worked as an engineer for the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Grand Junction, Colo., before being selected to attend the Nuclear Reactor School in Oak Ridge. That school launched Dick into a career, during which he helped blaze a trail into a new and exciting field that would transform the world. His nine-month assignment turned into 53 years of fulfilling life in Eastern Tennessee.

At age 60, Dick retired from the U.S. Department of Energy and became an expert craftsman while hand-building furniture, but he still had too much on his list. So, less than a year after retiring, he started a new career with Bechtel Corp. He spent 25 rewarding years at Bechtel working on important and challenging projects in Japan, England, Scotland, France, and Russia. Though he enjoyed the work, more than anything else he loved that his best friend in the world, Lois, was able to accompany him on many of his trips abroad—and they happily explored the world together. Back home, if you could get on their busy schedules, Dick would gladly talk your ear off about his adventures with Lois.

Dick loved to be active, so if he wasn’t busy on a project he was probably playing golf with his wife or taking her to a performance at the Knoxville Symphony, Knoxville Opera, or Oak Ridge Playhouse. But his real favorite activity was to take Lois ballroom dancing, followed by dinner at the Orangery in Knoxville. If you were lucky enough to get on the schedule, he was taking you with him! He made everyone who knew him look lazy by being a regular at the Rush Fitness complex as recently as a few months before his death. Keeping his mind and body active all those years kept him young until the end, but it was time to be reunited with Lois for their next dance.

Dick was a mentor to so many in a variety of ways. He was dedicated to the arts and charity, and he exemplified quiet and selfless devotion to St. Mary’s Catholic Church and the First United Presbyterian, where Lois attended. He remains in the hearts of all he touched an example in style and class.

He is survived by his children, Robert and Lingli, Susan and Gary, and Mary, daughter-in-law Rachael; grandchildren, Douglas and Jessica, Emily, Caroline, Elizabeth, Alexander, and Jiuchen Shi; and one great-grandson Charles. Dick was pre-deceased by his wife Lois and son Donald.

Visitation was held on Monday, March 31, from 5 to 7 p.m. at Weatherford Mortuary in Oak Ridge. A funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. at St Mary’s Catholic Church Oak Ridge.

In lieu of flowers, the family request memorial donations to Oak Ridge Children’s Museum.

An online guest book may be signed at www.weatherfordmortuary.com.