Richard was born in Thief River Falls, MN, on June 22, 1944, son of the late Joseph and Lorna (Peterson) Moline. His family moved to Superior, WI, when he was young and he met the love of his life at the University of Wisconsin, Superior, while he was in ROTC and she was in Angel Flight. Upon obtaining his Master’s Degree in Speech, Richard and his wife, Susan, began their military adventure with the U.S. Air Force.
In his 26 years of service, Richard obtained the rank of Colonel and traveled with his family to New Mexico, Germany, Texas, California, Ohio, Florida, South Korea and back to Texas. He was passionate about his job in Personnel and received numerous commendations for his performance. After he retired from the military, Richard moved to Pflugerville, where he used his human resource expertise at the TX Legislative Council and the TX Rehabilitation Commission.
He was also passionate about his family, golf and gardening. His kids learned to play golf (and pull weeds) at a young age. Weekends were spent golfing, gardening, at the flea market or a festival. Summers were spent with relatives in Wisconsin—often on the golf course. After he retired from the State of Texas, Richard became very active with the Travis County Master Gardeners and spent many hours working at their Demo Garden in Austin. When not gardening for others, he tended his crops at home and was proud of his tomatoes, peppers, pecans and grapefruit. He also became active with the Pflugerville branch of the American Legion and enjoyed the military and veteran-oriented service projects that they shared with others. In his spare time, Richard enjoyed grilling a good steak and watching the Green Bay Packers.
Richard is survived by one daughter, Betsy (Doug) Johnson, Austin, TX; one son, Michael (Nancy) Moline, Lithia, FL; four grandchildren, Lauchly Johnson, Austin, TX, and Allison, Joseph and Andrew Moline, Lithia, FL; three sisters, Kathryn (Jeffrey) Olson, Egg Harbor, WI, Patricia (Dennis) Fransen, Laytonsville, MD, and Cheryl (the late Dale) Vogel, Appleton, WI; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Susan; and brother-in-law, Dale Vogel.
A memorial service will be held at 6:30PM on Thursday, January 2, 2020, at Northwest Hills United Methodist Church, 7050 Village Center, in Austin, with the Rev. Audrey Spencer officiating. Family and friends are welcome to a reception at the church following the service. A private burial, with full military honors, will be conducted at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio on Friday, January 3.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of Richard J. Moline to Power for Parkinson's (www.powerforparkinsons.org) or the Davis Phinney Foundation for Parkinson’s (www.davisphinneyfoundation.org).
