Richard E. Wyman ’61
Richard E. (Dick) Wyman passed away on November 1, 2024, at his Kittery Point home, surrounded by his family. Dick was born on January 29, 1939, to Harry N. and Barbara M. Wyman of Kittery.
Dick attended Traip Academy where he was a football standout, graduating in the class of 1957. Dick graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in the class of 1961 and married the love of his life, Ardyce Larcom on July 1, of that year. Dick and Ardyce together made the decision for Dick to realize his dream of joining the United States Navy as a pilot. This provided him a distinguished 22 year career, punctuated by a number of awards, medals, and promotions. Over those years, they were blessed with daughter Susan and sons Kurt and Marc.
While his Navy career provided an opportunity to see the world, his heart was never far from his beloved hometown. Dick and Ardyce always knew that would be the place where they would retire. With that in mind, they bought a piece of land in Kittery Point and commissioned two of Dick’s brothers, Tom and Ken, to build them a home. After retiring to their new home, with the stress and rigors of being a Navy pilot behind him, Dick took on some jobs that gave him pleasure. He hauled his own lobster traps, spent some time with his brothers building homes locally and later took a job at the Pease Golf Course repairing golf carts and later as a starter. With an old salt beard, Dick was perfectly happy being a home town guy within reach of the ocean. His retirement years gave him the chance to spend time with his parents, his sister Barbara, and brothers Harry, Bob, Ken, and Tom.
There was nothing that Dick enjoyed more than a good game of golf, or a competitive game of cribbage. If he wasn’t out in his boat wetting a line, he might be found sitting on the deck of his home, alone, or surrounded by family, taking in the salt air that has been so much a part of his life. He loved watching the tide come and go, the wildlife that it brought and the fishermen reeling in their catch. Dick loved the month of November, when he would trade the ocean for the mountains and make the annual pilgrimage to Strong, Maine, where four generations of the Wyman family have hunted with five generations of the Pratt family. Just like a preflight check, Dick had an elaborate check list of everything that he needed to pack for the trip north. The days were filled with the hunt, while the evenings were spent around the wood stove playing cribbage and reliving hunts gone by.
Dick is predeceased by his parents, his sister Edith and his brother Tom.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years; his children; daughter in laws, Valerie and Tricia; son in law, Rob; grandchildren, Joseph, Emily, Amanda, Susan, Mary, Catherine, Christopher and Jonathan; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
At Dick’s request, there will be no services. The family would like to thank Beacon Hospice of Portsmouth, especially Christine Brown and Trisha Hendry and their team who were so kind and compassionate as they assisted Dick and the family in this transition over the past few weeks. To leave online condolences please visit www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com . Care for the Wyman family has been entrusted to the JS Pelkey & Son Funeral Home.
Latest Eight Bells
- Arthur F. Wardwell, Jr. ’58Captain Arthur F. Wardwell Jr. “Sonny”, age 88, of San Diego, California and Castine, Maine, passed away peacefully at his home on July 10th, 2025 keeping his last watch over San Diego Harbor. Art was born on March 13th, 1937 in Bangor Maine, the youngest child of Arthur F. Wardwell and Mildred “McMahone” Wardwell. He attended Bangor […]
- Capt. Gregory G. Smith ’11Capt. Gregory Granville Smith, 36, of Portland, passed away on Aug. 24, 2025. He was born in Portland on Dec. 5, 1988, the son of Mark Smith and Joan Abbott, a brother to Meaghan Catherine Smith, and the loving partner of Sydney Richard. He is also survived by his stepmother, Amy Clements; step-siblings James MacKinnon, […]
- Capt. Nicholas E. Salata ’68Nicholas (Nikk) Edward Salata passed away peacefully at his home in North Berwick, Maine on Aug. 6, 2025, with his family by his side. He was 79 years old. Born July 8, 1946, at Saint Andrew’s Hospital in Boothbay Harbor to Nickolas Salata of Hamtramck, MI and Gwendolyn Brackett of Boothbay Harbor. Nikk’s early childhood […]
- Fenton R. McAvoy ’53Fenton R. “Dude” McAvoy, 92, of East Hartford, CT and formerly of East Millinocket, ME, died peacefully on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 with his family by his side at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, CT. He was the loving husband of 52 years of the late Ann Marie (O’Mara) McAvoy. Born in Millinocket, Maine on January […]
- Jon P. Wing ’74Jon Phillip Wing of Bel Air Maryland, formerly of Scarborough, Maine, died on July 19, from complications of prostate cancer. He was 73. Jon, a retired Vice President of Lockheed Martin Maritime Systems and Sensors, was the son of Arthur Wing, a salesman for Supply Distributor, and Betty Ann Lovely, a homemaker. He graduated from […]
- Rock A. Levasseur ’65Rock A. Levasseur, 81, of Plymouth, MA, passed away peacefully on July 17, 2025. Rock was born in Portland, Maine in 1943 to Roch and Rosamund Levasseur. As a young man, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout and graduated from Waterville High School in 1961. Rock attended the Maine Maritime Academy, graduating in 1965 […]