Rick Dunne's Celebration of Life
Channel: Cody Dunne
Date: 25/12/2019

Rick's Obituary

By Cody, Deke, and Claire Dunne

Richard Anthony Dunne (67) died at home the evening of November 11th after a 15-year tarantella with leukemia. Rick was preceded in death by his father Joe, and succeeded by his wife Claire; mother; sons Cody (Kim) of Boston and Deke of Washington, DC; brother Marty (Linda) of Nashville, and sister Sara (Greg) of Grand Rapids, Mich.; and many close cousins, nieces, nephews, and one grandson so far!

Who doesn't have fond memories of Rick, the grizzled rock hunter in a floppy hat, who wandered in and out of the colorful Willwood? He liked to read, travel the world with Claire, explore the rock formations of the West, and understand how the Earth is put together. He was grateful to live in Wyoming, rather than somewhere where greenery obscures all the interesting rocks. With ten years in college and a life-long love of learning, he became a Renaissance man: an economist, inventor, historian, political scientist, geologist, paleontologist, archaeologist, botanist, and farmer. He could strike up a serious discussion with anyone on most any topic, sprinkled with his own brand of pointed humor. He was loving, caring, dedicated, funny, and thoughtful. Most of all he was a wonderful father and husband who we will sorely miss.

Rick was born August 7, 1947, in Salt Lake City, to Lois Jean Picht and Joe Geis, and at age five was adopted by Joe Dunne. Directly after high school Rick went to work alongside his father as a trackman at the Bingham Canyon copper mine. While in college and working as a blackjack dealer in Reno, he discovered his own sense of humor. He told people the truth about gaming, "Casino gambling is the most honest business there is: what other business tells you that you will get nothing of value for your money?"

Ah, enter Claire Gabriel. They immediately fell in love and were married in May of 1983. Apparently he was so twitterpated he let Claire talk him into becoming a seed collector. They saw little of each other that first year, running crews in different states. In order to start a family they settled down in Manderson where two little seed pickers were born. There they founded the Wind River Seed company, which supplies seed mixes for revegetation projects throughout the West. His neighbors helped him figure out how to farm, and could see him plow through a field of kochia wearing his Manderson Marching Band hat. During this time Rick served on the South Big Horn County Hospital Board and as a volunteer firefighter. In 2000 he was diagnosed with leukemia, but as anyone who knew him can attest, Rick had a tenacious zest for life.

In 2007 Rick and Claire sold the seed business and moved to Worland, but kept the dream alive growing sagebrush and wildflowers at Absaroka Farm south of town. He also served as president of the Wyoming section of the Society of Range Management, and was awarded "Outstanding Man of the Range" for his work with native plants. The highlight of his career was being invited to speak at the annual conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, where everyone called him "Dr. Dunne". Rick was also involved in helping make Worland a better place, including teaching two Master Gardener classes. His passion in his final years was the creation of Washakie Museum and Cultural Center, for which he helped design the exhibits.

It is only fitting then that our celebration of Rick's life will be held at the Washakie Museum and Cultural Center. It is scheduled for the evening of February 7, 2015, to coincide with the birth of John Deere.