Richard E. Dunham, 86, of Clinton, died at Providence Hospital in Everett unexpectedly from heart complications on Aug. 27.

Richard was born on Nov. 22, 1924, in Fresno, Calif., to Jack and Clara Dunham. In 1942 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. During the war he met Carrie Kopasis while she was waitressing at her father’s restaurant in Martinez, Calif. He shipped out the next week, but their love blossomed.

They were married as soon as the war was over. And that love flourished for over 65 years. They lived in California and Alaska, and retired to Whidbey Island in 1982 where they built their dream home.

Richard attended Golden Gate College and Fresno State College. He spent most of his working life in the insurance industry, receiving many accolades and awards, including president of the California Independent Insurance Agents Association and president of the Fresno Insurance Association. He also started the insurance degree program in the California junior colleges and wrote its first textbook. He was also on the Fresno City Schools Business Advisory Board, and an active member in the Lions Club and the Commonwealth of California. Richard was a member of the California Water Resources Board and was an honored guest of President Kennedy at the groundbreaking for the California Aqueduct. In his spare time, he was the scout master for his son’s Boy Scout troop.

In Alaska, Richard was still in the insurance business, but he also organized and served as director of the Alaska Dump Truckers Association. He also spent several years as a lobbyist in Juneau, earning the friendship and respect of governors and many legislators for his honesty and candor.

When he was 11 years old, Richard was hospitalized with a childhood disease. He was taken to the Shriner’s Hospital for Children by his Uncle Harry, who was a Mason. He was cured. Eternally grateful, he vowed to someday pay them back. He did so by becoming a Mason in 1961 and joining the Scottish Rite in 1970. Upon moving to Alaska, he became charter member #139 in the Al Aska Shrine in Anchorage. In Alaska, he was editor of the Shriners Magazine and served in the Clown Unit, raising tens of thousands of dollars for the Children’s Hospital.

Richard was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church and built all the cabinets for the new church out of his garage.

Richard is survived by his wife Carrie and his four children: Paul and wife Kathleen of Fresno, Calif.; Pamela Tesche (late husband Allen) of Anchorage; Susan Goodman and husband Larry of Seattle; and Cynthia Olsen and husband Eric of Spokane. He is also survived by six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held at Trinity Lutherann Church in Freeland on Saturday, Sept. 18, at 1 p.m.