Richard "Dick" Blackledge

Richard Lyle "Dick" Blackledge, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, took leave of this earthly vale on September 21, 2018 after a long and honorable life. He was a true friend, loving husband and father, and an inspiring example of living life to its fullest.

Dick was born April 25, 1923, to Benjamin Franklin and Vivien Golden Blackledge in Sheridan, Wyoming. He loved the natural world and being out-of-doors. Fishing and swimming in the summer, ice skating, trapping muskrats, and sledding in the winter were some of the adventurous and ingenious pursuits by which he and his friends entertained themselves and earned money in the Depression years, detailed charmingly in Dick's first novel, Goodbye Old Paint.

The Blackledge family moved to Boulder, Colorado, and then Salt Lake City, where Dick attended South High School and later the University of Utah with the intention of majoring in forestry. His education was cut short by his country's call: he enlisted in the new Army Air Corps in 1942, as an aviation cadet and qualified for basic flying school in 1943 at Santa Maria, California. Dick's physical and mental attributes, honed by his active youth, enabled his advancement to military flight training in Fort Douglas, Arizona. By July of 1944, Dick found himself in Nuthampstead, England, with the 398th heavy bomber group of the Eighth Air Force. He often piloted the B-17E aptly named "Stormy Weather." Dick successfully flew 36 missions over Germany and France. His last mission, one more than was strictly required, was flown on Christmas Eve of 1944; safe homecoming a precious gift for those who returned. For his valor, he was awarded the Air Medal with five oak leaf clusters and the European Theater Operations medal with two battle stars.

Dick desired "desperately," as related in his memoirs, to fly the new P-51 fighter airplanes, but was instead chosen to serve as a flight instructor in Lubbock, Texas, using new state-of-the-art electronically assisted navigation technology. Following his service, Dick earned a BA in Journalism, finishing at the University of Denver. This proved to be a fateful choice, for it was in Denver that Dick met his future wife, the dazzling Evalyn Janet Smith of Imperial, Nebraska. After a storied courtship famous in the annals of family lore, they married in April of 1949.

The couple soon moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, where two daughters, Susan Zoe and Mary Lou were born. Dick worked in the advertising department of the Daily Sentinel under the direction of the iconoclastic writer and painter Al Look. The two amateur archeologists ranged the nearby Colorado National Monument, collecting arrowheads and exploring Native American ruins.

Dick was recommended and hired for the position of Public Information Officer for the then Atomic Energy Commission in 1963, and the family moved to Idaho Falls. Dick found his intellect fruitfully employed by his scientific and diplomatic work for the nuclear industry. His passion for nature was fulfilled by the matchless fishing and hunting opportunities in the rugged Idaho terrain. He became an adept gardener who created many beautiful gardens and developed a technique for grafting Golden Delicious apple branches on crab trees. He played golf with friends and once shot a hole-in-one at a local golf course. As a raconteur, Dick was unparalleled. He turned his literary gifts to effect, writing the aforementioned Goodbye Old Paint, as well as his memoirs, a war novel, and poetry for Jan and his daughters.

Dick was preceded in transition by his wife Jan of 69 years, his parents and siblings James Patterson Blackledge and Jo Anne Brandt.

He is survived by his sister Mary Zoe Kugler of Denver, Colorado, and two daughters, Susan (Ken) James of Idaho Falls and Mary Lou (Don) Blackledge-Kortz, also of Denver. The couple was blessed with four lovely, talented granddaughters and six great-grandchildren. He is greatly missed.

Dick's life will be celebrated in Denver, Colorado, at a later date. Interment will be in Fort Logan, Colorado. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to www.operationhomefront.org.

Private Family Services

Private Family Services