Richard A. DeBishop

Dick DeBishop, 92, of Southington, CT, widower of the late Lorraine (Lori) DeBishop (nee Mongillo), passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2022, after a courageous battle with colon cancer.

Born in Meriden on February 26, 1930, the son of the late Arthur and Edith (Luca) DeBishop, Dick loved the outdoors, trapping and hunting animals as a child and selling the pelts to earn himself a buck. He worked on his grandfather's farm, knowing it was quitting time when he heard the whistle of the train that went through Milldale. Before going home to dinner, he would strip down and bathe in the Tenmile River, using a bar of Ivory soap (it floats!) he kept hidden in a bush. When he was 16, he and a friend earned scouting badges by canoeing up the Connecticut River all the way to Vermont.

After graduating from Lincoln Lewis High School (Southington), Dick volunteered to serve in the US Navy. He was a proud veteran of the Korean War, where he served as an aviation electrician for FASRON (Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron) 109 in Jacksonville, FL. During his four-year term, he came home on leave, married Lori and enjoyed a three-day honeymoon in New York City before returning to Florida with his bride.

Dick was a strong swimmer who rescued two people from drowning, one being an ocean rescue at Hammonasset Beach. At the age of 40, Dick won a swimming race against a more youthful lifeguard. Dick loved music. Though he played the accordion before entering the service, he switched to guitar (easier to lug around) after enlisting and taught himself to play. He was quite fond of his big family of in-laws. Many of them, too, were musically talented. Large family gatherings with impromptu jam sessions made for many happy occasions, especially for Dick's kids and all their cousins. For many years, Dick sang bass in a competitive barbershop-style chorus that won numerous competitions.

Dick was a member of the American Legion Kiltonic Post #72 and the BPOE Lodge # 1669 of Southington. He retired from the State of CT Dept. of Transportation after a 40-year tenure, starting on the tree crew and working his way up to Transportation Maintenance Planner. His love of tree work never left him. For 35 years he maintained his own part-time tree business.

After retiring, Dick and Lori sought out Dixieland Jazz concerts, visited the Connecticut casinos and travelled extensively, not only throughout America but also "across the pond."

Dick is survived by son Keith DeBishop of Bristol and his companion Debra Sylvain, son Jeff DeBishop and his wife Tricia of Southington, daughter Lynne Marie DeBishop and grandsons Joel and Taylor DeBishop. He also leaves behind his brother Robert DeBishop and sister-in-law Maureen (Reenie) of Southington, nieces Susan Kloss and Karen DeBishop and three great nephews.

Dick's sense of humor brightened the day for many, and he will be sorely missed.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Wednesday, April 13, at 9:15 AM from the DellaVecchia Funeral Home, 211 N. Main St. Southington, and at 10:00 AM in the Church of St. Dominic, 1050 Flanders Rd, Southington. Burial with military honors will follow in St. Thomas Cemetery. Relatives and friends may call at the funeral home on Tuesday, April 12, 2022 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. To leave an online condolence or for directions, please visit www.dellavecchiasouthington.com.