Obituary of Dick Arden Mack

A host of loving family and friends are mourning the loss of Dick Arden Mack, who died peacefully at his home in Scotts Valley on March 11, aged 91. He was born in Santa Cruz on November 22, 1921, and lived over half of his life in the Santa Cruz area. His parents, Irving and Marion Mack, were also lifetime residents of Santa Cruz. He leaves a daughter, Margaret Nelson, son-in-law James Nelson, granddaughters Tiffany Mann and Lindsay Gladwell, great-grandsons Alex Aguirre and Mason Decker, sister Jacqueline Rowland, and many nieces and nephews. His wife, Dorothy Newland Mack, and daughter, Nancy Standish, predeceased him. Dick grew up attending Santa Cruz schools: Soquel, Gault, Branciforte and Santa Cruz High, graduating with high honors. He then attended the University of California at Berkeley, graduating in 1943. At that time, World War II had begun and the US Navy offered direct commissions to engineering students. Lieutenant JG Dick Mack worked at the Naval Research Lab in Washington, DC, for the remainder of the war: 1943-1946. His field was radar and fire control. He enjoyed Washington and his love for the city grew when he met Dorothy, who was also stationed in Washington as a math teacher at the Marine Corps Institute. They married in 1945, and were blessed with a happy marriage which spanned 60 years. As soon as the war ended, Dick and Dorothy traveled back to California. Dick was excited to find a position as an electrical engineer at the Berkeley Lawrence Radiation Laboratory. His 30 years of working there were most rewarding. It was in Berkeley that his daughters Margaret and Nancy were born. As a boy in the third grade, Dick had begun building crystal radio sets. This hobby later led to a amateur radio license. W6PGL operated for 76 years, enjoying ham radio chats to distant countries as well as with friends closer to home. Dick also liked to collect stamps, camp, hike, travel to different continents for both work and pleasure, and when he moved back to the Scotts Valley area in 1977, his love for plants and gardening flourished. His garden crop of friends was truly bountiful, for he tended and cultivated friends with the same zest as he gardened. He reached out to people of all ages. As a child in the first grade he accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior and never wavered in his love for his Creator. Though a man of many achievements in his field, he had a humble and quiet spirit. The love of Christ shone through his life of selfless devotion to Jesus. His greatest joy was sharing his faith and inspiring others to follow Jesus. An active member of the Felton Bible church, he was deeply involved in many activities. He loved leading the Prime Time seniors group and helping during the summer Vacation Bible School program. He also prayed and supported many ministries and missionaries around the world. He will be greatly missed by one and all. A committal ceremony with military honors will be on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at Oakwood Memorial Park (3301 Paul Sweet Road, Santa Cruz, CA.), beginning at 11 a.m. A celebration of Dick's life will follow later that afternoon, April 6 at 2:00 p.m. at Felton Bible Church, 5999 Graham Hill Road, Felton, California. In lieu of flowers, donations are encouraged for building the Dick Mack Memorial Secondary School at Hope for Little Shepherds School in Emiworo, Nigeria. Contributions should be sent to International Childcare Ministries, 770 N. High School Road, Indianapolis, IN 46214, with the memo "Nigeria secondary school in memory of Dick Mack."