Richard Pease, “Dick” as he was known to friends and family, age 75, left his earthly body on January 10th, 2021.  He is survived by his sister, Shelvey Johnson and her husband Bruce Johnson of Orlando, his daughter Kimberly Roberto and her husband Fred of Atlanta, and his son, Michael Pease and his wife Emily of Charlotte, and his six grandchildren: James, Halle, Ricky, Lauren, Allison, and Tyler.  

Dick died in the hospital of pulmonary failure after 35 days in the hospital.  His children stayed in Florida with him as advocates for his health and his care at the hospital.  He turned the corner to health several times but endured setback after setback that ultimately resulted in his death. 

Dick was a cradle Catholic and attended St. William Catholic Church in Naples, FL.  He received the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick at the hospital.  Services will be at St. William on Friday, January 21st at 10:30AM and interment immediately following at Naples Memorial Garden where is wife was laid to rest in 2019.  

Dick was born in Meadville, PA where, as a grade schooler, he met his future wife Linda Silverthorn.  They were happily married for over 50 years.  He went to Grove City College and received his masters from Syracuse University, both resulting in electrical engineering degrees.  He began working for General Electric right after graduation and loyally remained with them for 38 years until retirement.  He became a titan of industry and retired as Vice President of General Electric Corporation, with the majority of that time under Jack Welch.  

He remained close to many of his peers, co-workers, and those who worked with and under him all the way to present day.  Many of them share great stories of working together.  There is a fitting story of Dick and his team being in a particularly grueling meeting with Jack Welch.  As the story goes (as reported by those in attendance), Jack proceeded to tear Dick limb from limb.  When they left the meeting, there were mutterings and grumblings about how rough the meeting was to which Dick replied, “he didn’t even get to lay a glove on me.”   This was Dick.  He never became discouraged or derailed, ever.  He prided himself on his hard work and determination and both were constant themes throughout his life.  

Almost to the day of his retirement, his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimers and God gave Dick a brand new job- becoming a full time caretaker.  Just like everything he did, he excelled at it.  He tended to her every need:  bathing, feeding, changing clothes, combing her hair, polishing her toenails, and talking to her even though for the last 8 of her 14 year battle, she couldn’t respond back to him.  He used his engineering mind to redesign, improve and reengineer things like ramps, seats, chairs, food preparation, transport and anything that would make taking care of his wife easier. He never asked “why me?”, not ever.  He just walked up to the task at hand and handled it.  It was quite inspiring to witness.  

Part of his success can be attributed to his use of the checklist. Yes, the handwritten checklist.  (This is a secret many should try to replicate in their own lives).    He was an ultra-organized person and utilized checklists for everything.  His children have been finding checklists, notes and perfectly ordered details tucked away throughout the house.  

One of his most fitting nicknames was Macgyver because he could literally fix ANYTHING.  He would make lists of the things he was able to successfully fix and it was quite impressive.  His children, his friends, and his neighbors marveled at this unique ability. Sadly, he remarked in the hospital that his lung was the only thing he wasn’t able to fix.  He had an extreme love of cars so this skill came in very handy.   

Richard had the ability to make an impact on every single person he met.  People that only met him briefly would comment on what a good man he was.  He was an amazing husband, brother, father, employer, friend and neighbor.  His friendships were long lasting and deep and he was able to maintain them for decades, even when faced with the monumental task of caring for his wife.  

He will be missed dearly but his friends and family find comfort in the fact that his reward in heaven will be great.  They are certain that he will hear the words that everyone longs to hear, “Well done good and faithful servant.” 

It is with great sadness we have to report that Dad went to be with the Lord last night. We are devastated but he clearly communicated that he wanted us to be strong. And so we will. After all, he taught us how to do that.

If you are reading this, you already know the world lost one of the best. He was the best at everything he did and anyone he came in contact with knew it.. He was also the best dad, husband, brother, friend, and neighbor.

Although he lost his earthly battle, his reward in heaven is immense. He earned it. We are certain he heard the words we all long to hear. “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Matthew 25:23

We are leaning into each other and our families during this time and will communicate arrangements as they are made.

We cannot thank you enough for all of your well wishes, support and prayers.

The last 48 hours have been incredibly hard and emotional. Kim and I have focused on Dad’s medical situation to give him the best possible chances. They were going to move him out of the ICU and we demanded that he stay. They listened. We have been by his side every minute the hospital will allow. We also have lots of people in our camp advocating alternate solutions, etc… Our aunt has a 30+ year career as a medical ER nurse so we have listened to her throughout this tough journey. We have also looked into getting him out of NCH and into “something else”. All of that has always been predicated on his ability to stabilize for a prolonged period. The ups and downs we all have experienced don’t make sense to Kim and I either. Those have been difficult because we had glimmers of hope, then setbacks that make his recovery seem impossible. We will come to understand that better one day. While we want to believe there is a path out of this situation, God will help us determine what’s best for Dad. We continue to pray hard for miracles. Your prayers have always been appreciated.

Everything you all are thinking, we are also thinking. We have been down every path and possible solution because we aren’t ready to let Dad go. That will never end. He’s remarkable, but as I sit here with Kim, there is NOTHING unsaid between any of us. Through the journey with our Mom and Alzheimer’s, our bond is stronger than ever. We talk to Dad every single day.

I know many of you want to talk to Dad. He knows you all are thinking about him. I have passed every word to him and he appreciates it, just wishes to handle these moments privately. His sister was able to visit from Orlando earlier in the week as well. Thanks for the continued thoughts and prayers.

Mike

Kim and I are heartbroken as I write this update. Neither of us can put into words the emotions we are having right now. Due to Dad’s underlying lung condition, the doctors told us yesterday that his condition is just not recoverable and asked us to move into hospice care. His lung collapsed again which gained him another admission to the ICU. I am back in Naples with Kim and we just need some space and time to process this situation. Both of us were with Dad last night and he was stabilized (again). It’s unimaginable and we are doing are best to help each other through this. Thank you everyone for you notes, prayers, texts, and emails.

-Mike

I know it has been a while (again) since my last update. Of course, being in the hospital during the holidays is not ideal. I hadn’t talked to a doctor in 5 days. However, I did speak with the new doctor today.

The good news is that he is continuing to improve, all of the cultures have come back negative, and he is on minimal oxygen. He seems much better each day.

The current challenges is that the bullous is close to the edge of his lung so they are concerned about removing the tube. He is have a more high resolution cat scan today or tomorrow so that the pulmonologist will be able to better assess the situation and make a plan of action.

We will continue to update as we know anything more.

Hello friends and family. I know it’s been a while and updates are sparse but is because we still don’t know much. Communication continues to be an issue although we work on it every day. Dad is still stable but it seems his lung (on the side of the collapse) is still very compromised.

Several doctors have done some new testing and scans so we are waiting to hear the results and what their recommendations are. We will post updates when there are any new developments.

One step forward, one step back. As excited as I was that Dad was released yesterday, I realized today that something just wasn’t right. I made the decision to call an ambulance and my intuition was right, the bullous on my dad’s lung burst and his lung collapsed.

Thankfully, he is in stable condition thanks to the paramedics and ER staff at NCH. He will be back with his friends in the ICU for the time being. The good news is that I got to see him briefly and he was talking a lot, moving a bit and looked so much better than he did earlier. He, himself, reported that he was feeling so much better.

I will continue to update here when I can. Your prayers are still much needed and appreciated.

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to update yesterday. They did in fact move dad to a regular floor. Unfortunately, no one is allowed to see him at all on this floor. Although it is super frustrating, Dad is making progress by leaps and bounds. He is so excited to tell me that he has been upgraded to solid foods and is like a whole new person. He is even laughing! They have also switched his meds to pill form rather than IV so that is also a great step in the right direction.

I am hoping for a call from his new doctor today and I will update from there.

PS- I was so thankful for the people in the CCU! They were amazing and I got to spend quite a bit of time with them. To show my appreciation, I gave them all gift cards for my favorite healthy spot in Naples (Food & Thought) and a big basket of healthy snacks. Although I hope I never have to see any of them again (lol), I will be forever grateful for their care of my dad!

GREAT NEWS! Dr. Ruthman (great doc) called to tell me the Dad is being moved out of CCU! Hallelujah! I’m not sure when it will happen, but sometime today. This is tremendous news and we are so thankful for all of your support.

Kim

Dad is continuing to make good progress. They have stepped down his oxygen again and he is doing well with that. He is much more rested, able to talk a lot more and moving a lot more on his own.

The nurse made mention of him being moved to another floor and out of CCU so that is what we are praying for currently. If he is able to do well with the current oxygen level and even gets stepped down again, his chances of being moved out of CCU are increased. The main reason he hasn’t been moved yet is because of the bullae in his lung as they wanted him where they could respond immediately and most effectively. However, the more his oxygen gets stabilized, the less risk it is. (He has likely had it for a long time).

Dad was given a spirometer (to measure the volume of air going in and out) to do several times a day and he is improving considerably with that – Give my dad a task and he will figure out how to conquer it 🙂

I am thrilled to keep making these positive posts!