RICHARD DILLON
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PHOTO: February 25, 1995 Tempe Historical Museum
November 12,1945-June 21, 2008
Richard William Dillon, Jr., 62, of Tempe, AZ died unexpectedly June 21st. He waged a lifetime battle with alcoholism and died sober. (PEOPLE TELL ME THAT THIS ALCOHOLISM THING IS BULLSHIT--TC) Richard was born November 12, 1945 in Dyersburg, TN to Mary Viola Peoples of Dyersburg and Richard William Dillon of Las Vegas, NM. He is survived by his two brothers, Michael and Charles; his three daughters, Hope, Sage and Nora; son-in-laws, Oliverio and Eric; and grandchildren, Quetzal, Citlalli and Henry.
Richard was shaped by his time in Japan where his father, a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, was stationed after World War II. He also lived in Haight-Ashbury at the height of the counter-culture experience. But he was an Arizonan at heart and was deeply rooted in Tempe where he graduated from Tempe High (class of 1963) and ASU with a degree in History. A lifelong activist, he was radicalized in the 1960s and served as head of Students for a Democratic Society at ASU, organized for Vietnam Summer and attended the New Politics Convention in Chicago where Martin Luther King Jr. spoke.
He organized laundry workers at ASU, supported the United Farm Workers Union and wrote for "Voice of the City." Richard met his ex-wife, Mary Ann, at a meeting of the Committee to End the War in Vietnam. Richard had many passions and talents. He knew the back corners of Arizona and reveled in the history and nature of the state. He founded Four Peaks Press and published two books, "Arizona's Amazing Towns" and "Western Quotations." A true book lover, he ran an online bookstore on eBay and had recently reread "Walden" and "Life on the Mississippi."
He loved volleyball, hiking, sketching at the Desert Botanical Garden and visits to the zoo with his grandchildren. He was proudest, he said, of his daughters and grandchildren and the work he did to save the Salt River from Orme Dam and Tempe Butte from development. A service will be held Thursday, June 26th at 4 PM at First Congregational Church (101 E. 6th St., Tempe, 85281). A wake follows at the Knights of Pythias Lodge (1606 E. Apache Blvd., Tempe, 85281). In lieu of flowers, please donate to the progressive cause of your choice.
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