Richard Stephen Vanek

Richard Stephen Vanek died on June 20, 2012 at 6:30pm in Plano, Texas. He was 78 years old. He was the husband of Audrey; father of Steve, Jeff, Mark, and Kim; grandfather of Andrew, David, and Haley; son of Peggy and Jerry; brother of Carolyn; uncle of Frank, Tom, Peggy and Jim; cousin of Bill, Jeff, John, Jill, Nancy Kay, and many others; and father-in-law of Roy, Anne, Hope, and Marta. Dick was the co-founder and co-owner of a successful small business in Carrollton, a Navy pilot who catapulted from and landed on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, and an employee of Ford, Dresser Industries, Computerland among others. He kept a signed photograph of George W. Bush on his desk, played high school football for Dondero in Royal Oak, Michigan and college football at Eastern Michigan. He loved romantic music, hot fudge sundaes, FOX news, Tanqueray, and trips to Bellagio. He was a good dancer. He wrote programs on 80-column punch cards, mastered Lotus 123, designed material control systems, created a financial system using Access, and managed people with a soft touch. He raised up a Warrior and a Death Knight, read the Wall Street Journal every day, and rarely missed a Mavericks or Cowboys game. He was a coach, booster club founder, little league president, and sports tournament organizer. Although shy, he was a skilled storyteller who deeply enjoyed good conversation and others’ company. At noon, he liked to take his lunch at Addison airport to watch the planes take off and land; flying never left his bones. He would tell you the best decision he ever made was to marry Audrey whom he loved for 60 years. His warm gentle voice, natural empathy, optimism, hope, acceptance, kindness, and quiet wisdom will be missed. He was escorted through the end by the loving and caring hands of the staff at Prestonwood Rehabilitation and Nursing Center; his family wishes to express their gratitude for the care he received at that wonderful facility. A remembrance service will be held on Tuesday, June 26 at 1pm at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home in North Dallas. In lieu of flowers the family requests that memorials be made to the American Heart Association.