Obituary of Richard H. Dierkes

Richard H. Dierkes, 83, passed away At Care One Morris on April 4, 2020 after a short battle with cancer. Born in Queens New York, he lived in Queens, Oceanside Long Island, Morristown, Brooklyn, Bloomfield and Seattle until finally settling in Morris Plains. After graduating high school, he was recruited to play baseball in the minor leagues but chose instead to attend college. In 1959 he graduated from Newark College of Engineering, which is now New Jersey Institute of Technology, with a BS in mechanical engineering. He later received two master degrees in both mechanical engineering and mathematics from NJIT. He worked for the Boeing Corporation in Seattle, WA on the first Minuteman missile project. On returning to New Jersey, he was employed with PSE&G, Newark for 40 years as a professional engineer. He was involved with the startup of the Salem Nuclear plant and Gas Turbine Technology. During his childhood, he enjoyed helping his parents breed different kinds of dogs, especially his favorite, a boxer. As an adult, he had many interests which included ballroom dancing, swimming and chess. He earned a black belt in karate and up until a few months before his death, went to the gym several times a week, where he had many friends. Intelligent and soft spoken, he had a sense of humor with a great smile and loved to speak of politics or would tackle a difficult math problem just for fun. The youngest of 4, he was predeceased by his parents, Henry and Helen Dierkes, and his 3 sisters, Lois Philip, Joan Murray and Mary (Pat) Dierkes. He is lovingly survived by his nieces and nephews, Katharine Philip, Jean Schiels, William Philip, John Murray, Eileen Kluse, Patricia Philip and Christine Feick. Memorial services and internment will be held at a future date, when the world around us returns to normalcy. Donations in his name can be made to the Parsippany Volunteer Ambulance Squad at 397 Parsippany Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054, or online at pvas.org.