Richard "Dick" Fuller, Jr.

RICHARD (DICK) FULLER, JR., was born in Columbus, Ohio, on November 24, 1924, the baby of the Fuller family of 4 children: Carl, Nell, Polly. Being the baby of the family, Dick quickly became “Dickie Boy” to his mother, father, and brother and sisters, and was adored by each one of them.

Dick had two careers in his lifetime...the United States Navy and The Georgia Institute of Technology. At 17, Dick enlisted in the Navy on September 15, 1942, and following boot camp at Saufley Field (Pensacola) was assigned to Bronson Field (Pensacola) in the first contingent of enlisted men to serve there. Dick entered flight training as an ARM2c in November 1943, and was designated NAP1/c in May 1946. Later that year, Dick received a direct ensign commission, and augmented to the regular Navy in 1947, and went on to an illustrious 28-year career, retiring in 1970 as a Commander.

After becoming an enlisted naval aviator, which was a very high honor at that time, Dick married the love of his life Bettye Jean Stanley, his Pensacola flight training sweetheart, on May 19, 1946. He went on to an illustrious career, and with 36 moves, they managed to have four children: Richard III, Susan, Kathy, and Alan. After their last child left for college, they received another very special gift, a fifth child...their granddaughter Kristen. Dick and Bettye were married 4 months shy of 65 years when Bettye died in 2011.

As a Naval Officer, his career included duty assignments in Helldiver (SB2C) operational training; Naval Air Transport Service Squadrons Six, Five, and Forty-Four; Berlin Air Lift; USS Hornet (CVA-12); Fleet Intelligence Center (Pearl Harbor); U.S. Naval Academy (faculty); Naval Attache to Manila, Philippines; and the NROTC at The Georgia Institute of Technology.

Other duty stations included: NAS Pensacola, Whiting Field, Corry Field, Moffett Field, NAS Jacksonville; NAS Agana (Guam); NAS San Diego; Rhein-Main AFB (Germany); Wright-Patterson AFB; The Ohio State University's NROTC Unit; USNPG School (Monterey, CA); NAS Memphis; Brooklyn Naval Base' Cornell College (Iowa); Mesa College (Colorado); St. Mary's College (California); North Carolina University; and NAS Corpus Christi. Temporary duty stations included: NAS Sangley Point (Philippines); Shanghai and Tsingtao (China); Yokosuka and Haneda (Japan); Frankfurt (Germany), and Vietnam.

While serving in the Navy, Dick received his degree from The Ohio State University, finishing his 4-year degree in 2 years (with 3 children no less); received his Master's Degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, and while serving as the Naval Attache to the Philippines, obtained his doctorate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

Dick retired on August 31, 1970, after 28 years of active duty and over 8,000 flight hours. He was awarded the Air Medal, Medal for Humane Action, Good Conduct Medal, Philippine Legion of Honor (presented by the late President Marcos); theater ribbons; and command pilot wings of the Philippine Air Force (the only naval aviator so designated).

One of Dick's greatest accomplishment was mentoring young people...from young men he met in the Navy, to midshipmen at the Naval Academy, to numerous students at The Georgia Institute of Technology, to those whose paths crossed his. He always said that military service holds the best career opportunities for young men and women who are unsure of their futures, and would tell them that military service would definitely change their lives, as it truly did his.

Following retirement from the Navy, Dick joined the staff of The Georgia Institute of Technology, and retired in 1993 as Vice President for Business, Finance, and Operations and Special Assistant to the President, and was designated Vice president for Operations and Assistant to the President Emeritus. He also named an Honorary Alumnus of Georgia Tech.

Dick and Bettye went back to Pensacola, Florida, to enjoy retirement, and moved back to Marietta, Georgia, in 2007 to be close to family. Dick will be missed more than words can express by his children, Richard III, Susan and her husband Randall, Kathy, Alan and his wife Marla; granddaughters Kristen Rossi (the granddaughter who they raised) and her husband Mark, Caroline Fuller, and Margaret Anne Fuller; grandson Richard Benjamin (Ben) Fuller; and great-grandsons Will Fuller Rossi and Alan Christopher (Ace) Rossi.

Dick, Dickie Boy, Dad, Papa: As you told many people in your lifetime, may you have “Fair winds and following seas on your new journey.” We will love and miss you forever.

A committal service with full Navy Honors will be held Friday, November 14, 2014 at 11 AM at Georgia National Cemetery, 1080 Veterans Memorial Drive, Canton, GA 30114 for all who would like to attend. A Memorial Service will also be held on Friday, November 14, 2014 at 2 PM at H.M. Patterson Canton Hill in Marietta, with a catered reception to follow. The family requests in lieu of flowers that memorials may be made to Mt. Bethel UMC or to Georgia Tech Golf at Georgia Tech Athletic Assoc. 150 Bobby Dodd Way, Atlanta, GA 30332. Online condolences may be made at hmpattersoncantonhill.com.