Richard 'Dick' Cressey

IRONWOOD TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Richard “Dick” Cressey, 77, of Jackson Road, Ironwood Township, died peacefully Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013, in his home, with family and friends by his side, following a courageous battle with lung cancer.

He was born Sept. 27, 1936, in Atlantic City, N.J., son of the late Henry and Margaret (Troup) Cressey, and graduated from Holy Spirit High School in Atlantic City in 1955.

He then spent 24 years in the U.S. Navy, serving on various ships and shore duty stations throughout the world during peacetime and the Vietnam War, retiring as chief storekeeper in June 1979 and moving to Ironwood. During his extended career in the Navy, Dick had Cressey Peak named for him by the Advisory Committee on Antarctic Names when he was stationed as storekeeper with the Bryd Station winter party in 1958. He was also a graduate of Gogebic Community College.

Dick was a member of the Fleet Reserve, Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, where he formerly served on the parish council, a member and past financial secretary of Ironwood Knights of Columbus Council 1396, life member of Ironwood American Legion Post 5 and Iron County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1580, and a member of the Gogebic Country Club. He also served as a volunteer at Aspirus Grand View Hospital and the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and enjoyed golf, traveling, and being on and near the ocean.

On Sept. 21, 1963, he was married to the former Sharon A. O’Donahue, of Ironwood, at Great Lakes, Ill. She survives.

Also surviving are a son, Richard (Pat Rynkiewicz), Groton, Conn .; two daughters, Rita (Tom) Snyder, Springfield, Va., and Diana (Brian) Maki, Woodruff, Wis .; three grandchildren, Amber (Tim) Boyd, Charlottesville, Va., Jennifer (Bryan) Runck, St. Paul, Minn., and Drew Maki, Northville, Mich .; two great-grandchildren, Adrienne and Owen Boyd; a sister, Joan (Don) Adams, Mays Landing, N.J .; numerous nieces and nephews; special cousin, John (Mary Jo) Cain and families; and very special family friend, Liana Saari, Hurley, Wis.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Friday, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m., at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church in Ironwood, with the Rev. Robb Jurkovich, celebrant.

Full military honors will take place at the church, accorded by the Ironwood American Legion Post 5 Honor Guard.

Luncheon will follow at Manny’s in Ironwood.

Private Rite of Committal and interment will be in Riverside Cemetery, Ironwood, at a later date.

Relatives and friends may call in the St. Joseph Family Room at the church from 10 to 11 a.m. on Friday, where members of Pere Menard Assembly 471, Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, will serve as honor guard.

Pallbearers will be Ed Blomquist, Dave Hegg, Dave O’Donahue Jr., Brian Maki, Dan Finco and Ezy Lagalo.

In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, 216 W. Aurora St., Ironwood, MI 49938, or Regional Hospice Services, 100 S. Mill St., Bessemer, MI 49911.

To view Dick’s obituary online, sign his guestbook or offer condolences, please visit mckevittpatrickfuneralhome.com.

Arrangements have been entrusted to McKevitt-Patrick Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Ironwood.