Richard Greisch

Richard Frank Greisch, 79, Baldwin, was taken home by the Lord on Sept. 12, 2020. Mass of Christian burial will be held at 12 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at Church of St. Mary, 806 E Broadway Ave, Bismarck.

Visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at Parkway Funeral Service, 2330 Tyler Pkwy, Bismarck. A rosary/vigil service will begin at 7 p.m.

Burial will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, Mandan.

Richard was born on Aug. 25, 1941 in Brooklyn, New York, the last of five children. After high school graduation, he went to Farmingdale College and got a degree in airplane maintenance. He joined the Air Force, spending most of his time in Japan. Upon returning home, he was hired by Northwest Airlines at JFK International Airport in Long Island, N.Y.

He met and married a fellow employee, Evelyn Maychrzak from Gascoyne. They were married in Scranton on April 29, 1967. They began their honeymoon with a full house, including Evelyn’s brothers, sisters, parents, and Richard’s parents as a blizzard hit that night.

Richard’s career with the airline included being a ticket counter and gate agent, supervisor and mail expeditor. While being a mail expeditor, he received an award from the Post Office for his contribution to the armed forces during desert storm. At that time, regular mail routes were used to send mail to service members overseas, meaning that mail was delayed and censored. Richard noticed that the military chartered flights were not always full and suggested that those empty seats could be filled with mail bags. His contributions provided a means for mail to be directly delivered to the base while being uncensored.

In 1996, Richard transferred to Bismarck where he was a gate agent. He retired as supervisor on Dec. 28, 2001 after 37 years of service.

Retirement gave Richard an opportunity to spend more time with his lifetime interest in gardening and cheering on his favorite baseball team, the N.Y. Mets.

Richard’s life changed dramatically in 2012 with a bilateral hernia. Shortly after in 2013, he suffered a stroke in which he was also diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. We are grateful beyond words for the care and help we received from St. Alexius Hospital and Kindred. We are grateful for the St. Alexius and Sanford Health therapists and staff for their help they were able to provide Richard while he was at home for seven years. Richard’s wishes were to die at home and St. Alexius felt very much like home. Thank you for not only the care for Richard, but the care shown to us.

Richard is survived by his spouse of 53 years, Evelyn; children, Richard (Josephine), Mastic, N.Y., David (Erin), Port Jefferson, N.Y., Jeffrey, Bismarck, and Alice (Mike) Grove, Monroe, Wash.; nine beautiful grandchildren, Christine and Michelle Gilvary, Richard Greisch, Maclaine, Tristan and Teagan Greisch, D.J. (Jamie Lee) Kramer, Marlee (Frank) Perez, and Emalee Kitzan; and two great-grandchildren, Frankie R. Perez, Kylie James Dinnigan and much loved Goddaughter Marlene Van Houten.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Gesine Greisch; brother, Joe; and sisters, Arlene, Marion and Alma.