Save the date!

We are planning a celebration of life party in Dick's memory on Thursday, August 12, 2021.

It will be outdoors and we hope that most people will have had the vaccine by then. Please mark your calendar and save us a spot!

Marcia, Alison, Paige and Leslie

From Marcia Spalding:

On Christmas day 2020, my sweetheart Dick, was enjoying the special day, opening gifts, eating a wonderful meal with Paige, Jim and me. When we got home, he felt ill, eventually losing that dinner. 

At about 3 a.m. he woke me to take him to the hospital, where about 30 minutes after we arrived, Dick had a massive heart attack.  He had never had heart trouble!   The superb ER team shocked him five times, bringing him back.  He was in Billings Clinic for 5 days, spending the next three days in Transitional Care at St. Johns. 

On Sunday, 1/3/21 he went back to Billings Clinic with “breathing problems.”  After 6 days in the hospital, it was agreed that he would be on Comfort Care, with the knowledge that his heart was too damaged to support him.   

Alison, Paige & Leslie joined me in staying day and night with him.  We had several days sharing our love for him before he died on January 11, 2021.  

On Saturday, January 16, 2021, our family gathered for a small and very windy celebration of his life at a property near Four Dances Recreation Area, overlooking his beloved Billings and the Yellowstone River.  

After 60 years together, it is hard to believe he is gone …. he is forever in my heart …..

We had moved to Mission Ridge in Billings two years ago, and I will stay there in our apartment with our dogs, Maxx Pibbs (Havanese) and Dick’s beloved Bentley (Coton de Tulear).  They take me for daily walks, and provide much snuggling. 

Paige and Jim live in Billings, with Alison and Mark in Denver, CO, and Leslie and Larry in San Diego, CA.  Luckily for me, we stay in touch daily via FaceTime.

Thank you so much for reaching out to us during this difficult time - via text, email, Facebook, Caring Bridge or snail mail. We very much appreciate your care and support for Dick and our family.

Marcia