Richard C. Schmehl, 88, of Bremen, passed away peacefully Nov. 30. An aviator and outdoorsman all his life, Dick was a presence to those who knew him. Characteristically outfitted in his vest and pocket pants (the more pockets the better), he was equipped for all and every emergency life might present. His Boy Scout training never failed him from his boyhood expeditions on Mt. Katahdin to his 80 plus missions as a B25 bomber pilot during the WWII Pacific campaign.
Growing up in Great Neck, N.Y., Dick was inspired at the young age of seven to pursue aviation when he welcomed Lindberg at Roosevelt Field as he returned from his single-handed ocean flight.
After the war, he worked from 1947 to 1973 for the FAA as an air traffic controller in New York, Boston, and New Hampshire. He was instrumental in the design of radar and control sites for SAC aircraft over New England.
He retired to Bremen in 1973 to a place he called heaven on earth. There he pursued his love of sailing, fishing, boating, lobstering, hunting, traveling, and dancing with his beloved wife Nancy, his best friend and companion of over 60 years.
Dick enjoyed and was respected for his teaching skills in boating safety and celestial navigation, during his seven-year tenure in the Boothbay Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“Bubba”, the name his first grandchild gave him, became the name his close family used thereafter. “Bubba”, was forever memorialized when his grandchildren named his 17 foot skiff “The Bubster”.
“Bubba” is survived by his wife Nancy; two daughters, husbands and children, Susan and Don Morley, daughters and sons Siiri, Katri, Adam, Alexander, and Karen and Morgan Wheelock, and sons, Erik and Richard.
Service to honor his life will be announced in the spring.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Strong Funeral Home, 612 Main St., Damariscotta.
