Richard “Dick” Staves
Dick entered his final resting place on December 24th at the Adirondack Medical Center with his wife by his side. He had fought a long and hard battle with COPD and Parkinson's Disease.
Born in Tupper Lake on January 27, 1940 he was the son of Edward and Yvette (Delair) Staves. He attended Holy Ghost Academy until the age of 17 when he joined the United States Air Force.
He was married to his first wife while he was in Victorville, Ca. After moving to Tupper Lake they became the parents of two children. The marriage ended in divorce in the late 60's.
Dick moved to Mystic, Ct. in 1967 and was employed at the New London Shipyard for several years. He returned to Tupper Lake with his children in late 1972.
He later met and married the love of his life, Gwen Thornton on April 5. 1975 and together they have one son.
While in Tupper, Dick worked for Tupper Lake Veneer, but also was a boy scout leader along with his brother George. They took on many projects together including rebuilding their old jeeps. We had dubbed them the brothers, Nit and Wit, and never which one was what.
After a couple of years working in Tupper Lake, Dick decided to attend the School of Modern Welding in Schenectady which in turn helped him get into the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 105 of Schenectady. This led to his working away from home most of the time. Later Local 105 was merged with Local 7 of Albany, N.Y. and when the work became scarce Dick decided to retire in 1999 enjoying being able to stay at home.
Dick is survived by his wife, Gwen, of 49 years, two sons, Michael (Sheila) Staves of Galway, N.Y., James of Tupper Lake, and four grandchildren, Danielle (wife Robyn Glasscock) Riley of San Antonio, TX, Brian (Sonya) Staves of Tucson, AR, Stephen (Dianna) Staves of Ellicott City, MD and Josh (Breanna) of Scotia, N.Y. He also has four great-grandchildren and one great-great grandson along with nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was predeceased by his parents Edward and Yvette Staves, his daughter Sheila Chase, in-laws Robert and Loyola Thornton and sisters-in-law Patricia Hassler and Colleen Larabie.
Arrangements are with the Frary Funeral Home. There will be no calling hours. A graveside service will take place in the spring
Anyone wishing to remember Dick is asked to make a donation to the Tupper Lake Volunteer Ambulance Service.