Richard Pearl

Richard “Dick” Pearl, of Bainbridge Island, died peacefully at home on July 28 surrounded by his family. He was 83.

He was born in Berkeley, Calif., on April 30, 1926 to Hallet and William Pearl, the fifth of six children. As a boy, he loved spending time in the mountains and on the water. He sailed on the San Francisco Bay with the Sea Scouts and spent most summers camping with his mother and brothers at Butte Meadows near Mount Lassen with little more than a canvas tent and a fishing pole.

He graduated from U.C. Berkeley and served in both the United States Navy and the United States Army. In 1955, he married his wife, Carolyn, and together they had two daughters, Amy and Sarah. He raised his girls with a great love for the outdoors and inspired them to work hard to achieve their dreams.

He spent his career working as a subcontract manager for Lockheed Missiles and Space. Shortly after retirement, he and Carolyn moved to Bainbridge, joining their daughter, Sarah, and her family. As a testament to his adventurous spirit, he volunteered as a backcountry ranger in the Olympic National Park in his seventies, and was always ready to participate with his family in hiking, camping, light-plane flying, sailing and traveling. Favorite places were Ross Lake in the North Cascades, where he went every summer with Sarah and her family; Oxford, England; and Scotland, where he went every spring with Amy.

He was an environmentalist, a progressive and a history buff, but most of all, he was a man who loved his family and the beautiful Bainbridge home and garden he and Carolyn created. He delighted in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren and attended countless performances, award ceremonies, recitals and graduations, most recently the wedding of his oldest granddaughter just prior to his death. He was an energetic, thoughtful, uncompromising, and caring man.

He was tenderly cared for in his last months by his wife and daughters along with their husbands and children.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his five siblings; and one grandchild, Ian Pearl-Sacks.

He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Carolyn; daughters Amy Pearl (Kurt Alameda) of Portland, Ore., and Sarah Pearl (Barry Sacks) of Bainbridge Island; grandchildren Megan and Taylor Alameda and Elliott and Carly Pearl-Sacks; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arrangements are by Cook Family Funeral Home. An online guest book is at www.cookfamilyfuneralhome.com.