Richard Allen Francis

Richard “Dick” Allen

Francis, of Minot, hus-

band, father, grandfather,

son, uncle, and brother,

passed away unexpected-

ly November 28 in Yuma,

Arizona at 75 years of age.

He was born September

6, 1946, in Milwaukee,

Wisconsin. After graduat-

ing from Custer High

School (Milwaukee, WI)

in 1965, he enlisted in the

United States Air Force in

1965. He was stationed at

Minot Air Force Base

where he met his future

wife, Linda, on a blind

date at the bowling alley.

They married in February

1969. Dick and Linda had

two children, Lisa, born

in 1970 and Anna, in

1973. Dick and his family

spent some time stationed

in Goldsboro, NC and

were able to be resta-

tioned back to Minot in

1975, closer to Linda’s

family. Dick retired from

the USAF as a Master Ser-

geant, after serving 20

years, in 1985. He later

worked for private

government contractors

installing aircraft crew

training equipment and

supervising aircraft crew

training operations at

Minot Air Force Base. His

final job was as a runner

for his favorite Ford

dealership, Westlie Mo-

tors, in Minot.

About 10 years ago,

Dick and Linda started

spending the winter

months in warmer weath-

er: first in Las Vegas, NV,

then a couple years later

they purchased a small

home in Yuma, Arizona.

They spent their summers

back in North Dakota,

mainly living out of their

5th wheel camper, at the

Van Hook resort. Nothing

made Dick happier than

socializing with his

friends, smoking his pipe

in a lawn chair, and his

favorite pastime, fishing

out on the lake in his

boat. He loved Diet Coke,

old westerns on TV, cold

apple pie and Linda’s chi-

li. He was a t-shirt kind of

guy and always wore a

pair of suspenders. He

said “I love you” by filling

up the gas tank on your

car or hanging a shelf. He

loved to fuss over his tiny

yard outside his home in

Yuma or his camper. He

loved animals (but tried to

pretend he didn’t); his

golden retriever, Max,

passed away about a

month before he did.

Dick was preceded in

death by: his parents, El-

len (2003) and Henry

Francis (1984), his sister

Pat Martinez (2013) and

his wife, Linda (2018).

He is survived by: his

sister, Jan Halloway;

brothers Michael (Edwi-

na), Jerry (Mary Alyce),

and Robert; children Lisa

Weber (John) and Anna

Dimka; and five

grandchildren Payton,

Noah (his favorite fishing

buddy), Abby, Addyson,

and Dimitri.

He will be missed by

his family, his life-long

friends and those in his

Yuma and Van Hook com-

munities.

Dick’s celebration of life

service will be held at the

North Dakota Veterans

Cemetery, Mandan ND, in

the spring. Details will be

announced once the ar-

rangements have been fi-

nalized. In the meantime,

memories about Dick and

sympathies for his family

may be shared at

https://www.allsaintscremation.com/

obituary/richard-francis.