Dorothy Gordon

Published 3:23 pm Friday, March 20, 2009

Born to Edith and Richard Johnston on August 28, 1922 in Pittsburg, Penn., Dick was 12 when the family moved to Maumee, Ohio, a suburb of Toledo. Dick remained in Maumee until he retired to Tryon in 1987.

A Sigma Chi at the University of Michigan, Dick remained a true Blue fan after he graduated with a BBA and in later years loved to gloat to his daughter Pat, a graduate of Ohio State, when the Wolverines beat the Buckeyes.

After college Dick joined the Navy and became a Lt. j.g. He met his wife to be, Betty Winther, while stationed at Great Lakes Naval Station. Dick and Betty married after he returned from service in WWII and remained married one month shy of 62 years.

Dick and Betty settled in Maumee, where Dick worked for First National Bank of Toledo. He later became vice president of Toledo Trust Bank and before retiring was the owner of Whitaker Plating Company.

Always one to give back to the community, Dick volunteered for many organizations in Toledo and Tryon. He was head of the volunteers for the Republican Party during the Nixon campaign of 1960 and also served as the president of the Toledo Opera Association. While in Tryon, Dick was extremely active at F.E.N.C.E., where he became vice president. He also was president of Habitat for Humanity for the Tryon area.

Dick is survived by his wife, Betty, and their two daughters, Patricia Thombley of Potomac Falls, Va., and Suzanne DeLamater, formerly of Phoenix, Ariz., now of Columbus; three grandchildren, Robert Thombley of San Diego, Calif.; Corey Thombley of Los Angeles, Calif.; Glenn DeLamater of Denver, Colo.; and one sister, Mrs. George Crampton (Barbara) of Burlington.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Smith Phayer Hospice House, 260 Fairwinds Rd., Landrum, S.C.