Richard (Dick) V. MacMillan
MACMILLAN, BURLINGHAM, WOOLUMS, ISAKSON, DADO, MARS
Posted By: Sarah Fletcher (email)
Date: 1/23/2020 at 12:48:00
Richard (Dick) V. MacMillan, 98, of Iowa City, died on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics surrounded by family.
Visitation will start at 9:00am on Saturday, January 25 at the Congregational United Church of Christ, Iowa City, with a Memorial service at 10:45 with the Reverend William Lovin officiating. Burial will be at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be directed towards Music at the Congregational Church UCC.
Richard was born on October 7, 1921 in Bartlesville, OK, son of Archibald L. and Leila (Burlingham) McMillan. At age 6, he moved to New York metropolitan area where his father was a purchasing agent for the City of New York. He graduated from George Washington High NYC in 1940 and worked as an electrical tester for Sperry-Gyroscope. He joined the Army in1942 and served as an Electrician in Europe. After the war, he went to New London Junior College in Connecticut then finished his Mechanical Engineering degree at the University of Iowa. While in Iowa City, he attended Campus Ministry dinners at the Congregational Church. There he met his future wife, Grace (then director of the Campus Ministry) while washing dishes after dinner.
They were married at the Congregational Church in 1950. In the spring of 1951, he was offered a job at Sperry Gyroscope, New York. They lived in Wantagh, LI, NY for the next 65 years as he worked for progressively interesting jobs. At Grumman Aerospace he notably helped design the emergency guidance system for the Apollo Lunar Lander which helped Apollo 13 return home, as well as being their microcomputer expert in the early years of programming.
When not at work he was an active member of the Wantagh Memorial Church serving in the choir and on a multitude of committees and served as moderator for many years. He also volunteered with the Long Island Council of Churches, Habitat for Humanity and the Wantagh Preservation Society.
He had a passion for music; he played the piano and nearly any instrument that could be blown into. He enjoyed arranging music and performing with the Wantagh church choir, his recorder group, and the Bel Canto Chorale.
Woodworking and tinkering were favorite hobbies. He designed and built a number of unique furnishings for the house including a HiFi cabinet, many bookcases and he wired chairs to turn on lights when sat in. He even installed a doorbell for the cats. He could fix clocks, watches and anything mechanical. When the family vacationed at the summer cottage, he usually found interesting projects, pursuing genealogy, books to read or naps to take.
He enjoyed gardening and experimented with grafting plants together. He produced a binary tree using several species of crabapples. An annual project at the MacMillan house was jelly making in the fall. They would collect apples from neighbors and friends to produce hundreds of jars to sell at the church Christmas fair.
Dick and Grace enjoyed travelling. They took a number of trips run by the United Church Board for World Missions. He would keep a journal of sights and adventures along with details of every pictures taken.
After Grace passed away in 2009, he continued his volunteer activities and annual travels to the mid-west to visit his daughters and their families in Michigan and Iowa.
In 2015, he returned to Iowa City to be closer to family where he lived in an independent apartment with his cat, Apple, at Melrose Meadows. He enjoyed singing in the Congregational Church choir and with the Melrose Singers. He also enjoyed talking stocks as a member of the Professional Investors club.
He suffered a fall and stroke last May and has been in declining health. He contracted pneumonia last week.
His wry sense of humor and mischievous streak will be greatly missed.
Richard is survived by his two daughters, Shirley Woolums of Iowa City and Carol Isakson (John) of Canton MI; grandchildren: Vincent Woolums (Darcie), Elizabeth Isakson-Dado (Jamiel), Eric Isakson (Bridget), Paul Isakson, David Isakson (Erin), Joshua (fiancé Anna), and Tim Woolums; great-grandchildren: Sylvia Woolums, Fielding Woolums, Beatrix Dado, and Coleman Isakson. Richard is also survived by numerous extended family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Archibald and Leila; wife Grace; sister Joanne and husband Howard Mars.
Lensing Funeral & Cremation Service
Johnson Obituaries maintained by Cindy Booth Maher.
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