Richard Atwood

Richard Atwood died May 25 at his home in Mission Lakes Country Club, Desert Hot Springs, Calif., after a long illness. He was 84.

Atwood was born in Greensboro, N.C., on March 22, 1925, and grew up in Worcester, Mass.

He joined the Navy near the end of World War II and served a short time on Guam in the South Pacific. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in 1948 with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked for Boeing Aerospace for more than 30 years, including work on such projects as Bomarc Missile, Apollo 4 and Saturn 5 at Cape Kennedy. In the latter part of his career, he was a staff engineer and radar specialist for Boeing on the AWACS program in the Seattle area.

He became a ham radio operator at the age of 17 while serving in the Navy as a Communication Specialist and it was a strong and continuing interest for the rest of his life. In his early 20s he earned his pilot’s license and purchased a Piper Club, clipped the wings to make it more acrobatic and flew it for several years in the Northeast before moving to the Seattle area. Later he purchased a Bellanca airplane and flew it cross country when moving from Florida to Seattle.

In 1973 he married Carol and they lived in Bellevue, on Bainbridge Island and in Poulsbo for 27 years until purchasing a home in Mission Lakes Country Club, Desert Hot Springs, and eventually relocating there in on a permanent basis.

In the 1970s, boating replaced flying as a hobby and he was active in several boating organizations, including the Poulsbo Yacht Club and Agate Pass Power Squadron and served as commander in 1985.

After retirement in 1989, extensive travel and long boating trips became an integral part of life. He was an active volunteer with the Red Cross in Kitsap County for several years and a Red Cross disaster volunteer serving in other parts of the country.

His is survived by his wife, Carol; a brother, Robert; six children — among them Steven Bentley of Bainbridge Island; 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

There will be a memorial service at Riverside and a celebration of life at the family home.