DEER ISLE – David N. Dickinson, 65, passed away Jan. 26, 2011, after a long illness. He was born June 1, 1945, in Rapid City, S.D., the son of B. Norman Dickinson and Ella (Johnson) Nagy.
Raised by his grandparents, Edmund and Elleetta Johnson, he graduated from McKinley High School, Deer Isle, in 1963. After a brief stint at Pratt & Whitney in Connecticut, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy. After boot camp at Great Lakes, Ill., he was sent to Seabee’s Mechanic School, Port Hueneme, Calif., and from there to Grand Turk Island in the British West Indies. He finished his hitch with the Seabee’s in Davisville, R.I., where he was twice deployed to a three-man weather station on the Ross Ice Shelf, Antartica. While there, he was the public works department, plumber, electrician, mechanic, carpenter, chief cook and ham radio operator. After 51 months in the Navy he worked for Hempstead Ford, Long Island, N.Y., and then Dow Pontiac, Ellsworth, and on to Vinalhaven, where he had his own garage and contractor business for 12 years. He returned to his beloved Deer Isle in 1981 and worked the rest of his career as a self-employed contractor. He was very proud of his naval service and marched for many years in Memorial Day parades. He was an avid stamp collector all of his life, a past member of American Philatelic Society and most recently a member of American Legion. He loved to cook, have a garden, a good game of cribbage and to hang out with Chad and friends in the garage.
He is survived by his former wife and mother of his children, Jeannette Dickinson of Stonington; son, Chad Dickinson and his wife, Stephanie, of Deer Isle; daughter, Heather Howard and her husband, Daniel, of Orrington; five grandchildren, Olivia, Jacqueline, Devin, Liam and Landon; a sister, Dianne Buric and her husband, Vincent, of Centennial, Colo.; a special aunt and uncle, Anne and Arthur Saunders of Derry, N.H.; many nieces, nephews and cousins.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 12, at First Congregational Church, Deer Isle. Donations in David’s memory may be made to Memorial Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 387, Deer Isle, ME 04627.