Richard David "Dick" Huckestein

Richard “Dick” Huckestein passed away peacefully on May 2 at Clatsop Care Memory Center in Warrenton, surrounded by his loving family.

He as born in Salem on March 14, 1932, to August and Edna (Vogt) Huckestein. He attended school in Salem, and graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in 1950.

He worked on the Detroit Dam after high school until he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1950, during the Korean War. He was stationed at March Air Force Base in Riverside, California.

In 1952, he married Betty Stadler, in Salem.

He was discharged from the Air Force in 1953 at the end of the Korean War. He moved to Astoria, where he worked for his brother-in-law, Bikie Roman, at Roman Appliance. In 1955, he went to work for Cox Cable Co.

In 1964, he became an electrician and worked for Snows Electric, which merged with Wadsworth Electric. He retired in 1993 and had over 40 years in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union.

Dick and Betty spent the next 26 years being snowbirds and traveled six months at a time during the winter months. They ventured all through the U.S., Mexico and Canada in their recreational vehicle. They loved their adventures and were always looking for the next place to visit. A highlight for him was going to Germany in 2002 for a Huckestein family reunion and seeing the Huckestein name on over 300 attendees’ name tags.

In 2005, they purchased a park model at Rancho Casa Blanca in Indio, California. He loved the sunshine and spending the winters in the park model. He enjoyed so many activities and met many lifelong friends, including George Bauer, of Eugene, who was his friend since grade school.

Dick loved camping, fishing and the outdoors. He spent vacations at Trillium Lake, Kilches Creek, Detroit Lake and many more beautiful places, including their property in Jewell along the Nehalem River.

Dick had a love of cars, especially Mustangs. His first car was a Model T Ford, and he salvaged the body out of a river. He and his friends rebuilt the car. He also loved to go to classic car shows, and would talk about each model, what year they changed features and loved to share his enthusiasm.

Dick could fix anything. He spent years remodeling and restoring their homes, especially the one at 16th Street and Grand Avenue in Astoria. The many hours of restoration brought the house back to life and gave him great satisfaction. He paid great attention to detail, and it showed.

Family always came first for him; he loved and supported his kids, grandkids and great-grandkids in their events, sports and fairs. Dick was the calming force in the family, always positive and kind, and would help anyone in need. He loved to tinker in his basement and work on his many projects.

He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Betty Huckestein, of Astoria; daughters, Debbie Inman and Carol Neal, of Astoria; sons, Jim Huckestein (Julie), of Bend, Dan Huckestein, of California, and Jeff Huckestein (Lynda), of Longview, Washington; and grandchildren, Melissa Linder-Cho, Jeremy Linder (Kallie), Kelly Huckestein (Sam), Erika Huckestein (Jordan), Rachel Tibbot (James), Jillian Hall (Clint), Jennifer Johnson (Brandon) and Stephanie Munoz (Adam); and great-grandchildren, Ryan, Jameson, Madalyn, Ollie, Zora, Jaxon, MaryAnn, Abraham, Betty, Hannah, Holden and Harry.

Dick was a member of St. Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Astoria for 70 years, and a member of the Knights of Columbus. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to St. Mary, Star of the Sea Church or Lower Columbia Hospice.

His memorial will be held at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at St. Francis de Sales Mission in Hammond.