Richard E. Wyman ’61

Richard E. (Dick) Wyman passed away on November 1, 2024, at his Kittery Point home, surrounded by his family. Dick was born on January 29, 1939, to Harry N. and Barbara  M. Wyman of Kittery.

Dick attended Traip Academy where he was a football standout, graduating in the class of 1957. Dick graduated from Maine Maritime Academy in the class of 1961 and married the love of his life, Ardyce Larcom on July 1, of that year. Dick and Ardyce together made the decision for Dick to realize his dream of joining the United States Navy as a pilot. This provided him a distinguished 22 year career, punctuated by a number of awards, medals, and promotions.  Over those years, they were blessed with daughter Susan and sons Kurt and Marc.

While his Navy career provided an opportunity to see the world, his heart was never far from his beloved hometown. Dick and Ardyce always knew that would be the place where they would retire. With that in mind, they bought a piece of land in Kittery Point and commissioned two of Dick’s brothers, Tom and Ken, to build them a home. After retiring to their new home, with the stress and rigors of being a Navy pilot behind him, Dick took on some jobs that gave him pleasure. He hauled his own lobster traps, spent some time with his brothers building homes locally and later took a job at the Pease Golf Course repairing golf carts and later as a starter. With an old salt beard, Dick was perfectly happy being a home town guy within reach of the ocean. His retirement years gave him the chance to spend time with his parents, his sister Barbara, and brothers Harry, Bob, Ken, and Tom.

There was nothing that Dick enjoyed more than a good game of golf, or a competitive game of cribbage. If he wasn’t out in his boat wetting a line, he might be found sitting on the deck of his home, alone, or surrounded by family, taking in the salt air that has been so much a part of his life. He loved watching the tide come and go, the wildlife that it brought and the fishermen reeling in their catch. Dick loved the month of November, when he would trade the ocean for the mountains and make the annual pilgrimage to Strong, Maine, where four generations of the Wyman family have hunted with five generations of the Pratt family. Just like a preflight check, Dick had an elaborate check list of everything that he needed to pack for the trip north. The days were filled with the hunt, while the evenings were spent around the wood stove playing cribbage and reliving hunts gone by.

Dick is predeceased by his parents, his sister Edith and his brother Tom.

He is survived by his wife of 63 years; his children; daughter in laws, Valerie and Tricia; son in law, Rob; grandchildren, Joseph, Emily, Amanda, Susan, Mary, Catherine, Christopher and Jonathan; as well as many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.

At Dick’s request, there will be no services. The family would like to thank Beacon Hospice of Portsmouth, especially Christine Brown and Trisha Hendry and their team who were so kind and compassionate as they assisted Dick and the family in this transition over the past few weeks. To leave online condolences please visit www.jspelkeyfuneralhome.com . Care for the Wyman family has been entrusted to the JS Pelkey & Son Funeral Home.