Richard R. Huesken

Richard R. “Dick” Huesken passed away peacefully on Jan. 19 at his home in Avon, Ohio, after an eight-year battle with cancer.

Dick was born Nov. 9, 1929, in Youngstown, the son of Harold and Ann (Casey) Huesken. In January of 1948, he graduated from South High School. In 1953, he graduated from Youngstown College, where he was president of Kappa Sigma Kappa fraternity, majored in marketing and minored in economics and psychology.

Although he was reared in the same parish as his future wife, they did not meet until they were well into their 20s, when the former Mary Elizabeth Thomas started noticing him at Mass. They were married on Jan. 30, 1960, at St. Dominic Church.

After Dick graduated from college, he served two years in the Army, mostly at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland, and then joined the sales team at Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.  He worked in Sheet & Tube offices in New York City, Connecticut, and San Francisco before returning to the headquarters in 1968 and establishing his family in Boardman and at St. Charles parish. He continued to sell tin-plate steel after Sheet & Tube was acquired by Jones & Laughlin and LTV, working in offices in Aliquippa, Pa., and Whiting, Ind. He retired from LTV in 1986 and went to work for Olsher Metals in Brookfield, Ohio, until he retired for good in 1996.

He made friends wherever he went, and he held on to them; in retirement, he lunched every Wednesday with school pals, and he did church work with former fraternity brothers. He had a gift for remembering names. He was active at St. Charles parish, sitting on several fund-raising committees and volunteering as an adult altar server. He was a passionate and faithful volunteer for Special Olympics and for other organizations that help the developmentally disabled.

Dick is preceded in death by his parents. He leaves his wife of nearly 59 years, Mary Elizabeth, of Avon; his son, Richard J. (Mary Ellen) of Westlake, Ohio; his son, Paul (Louise) of Atlanta; his daughter, Joan, of Youngstown; five grandchildren, William and Ann of Westlake and Katherine, Anna, and Brady of Atlanta; his brother James R. (Mary Ann) of Poland; his nephews, John Thomas (Kathy) of Austintown and David Thomas (Brenda) of Columbus, and his niece, Mary Beth Thomas Foley (Michael) of Columbus.

The family would like to thank the Hope Center for Cancer Care in Youngstown and Rose Senior Living in Avon for their wonderful care.

Friends may call at Fox Funeral Home, 4700 Market St., Youngstown, from 4 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 25. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 26, at St. Charles Borromeo Church, 7345 Westview Drive, Boardman, Ohio, 44512.

In lieu of flowers, please consider memorials to St. Charles Church or to Golden String, 16 S. Phelps St., Youngstown, 44503, www.goldenstringinc.org  Golden String provides recreational activities and other support for special-needs individuals.

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