CHESTER, Vt. – Richard (Dick) Hayes Dansingburg passed away peacefully at his home in Chester, Vt., on the afternoon of March 28, 2024, after a lengthy illness. He was 88 years old. Dick was born on May 10, 1935, in Rochester, Minn., to Gertrude (Boothby) and Hayes Dansingburg. He grew up in Rochester with his older sister Janet.
Dick graduated from Rochester High School in 1953 as an Eagle Scout, a three-sport athlete (football, swimming, and tennis), and senior class president. Following high school, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he completed his service as an aerographer’s mate second class (weather forecaster) onboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Hornet, for a tour of duty to Japan and the Far East. Among his fondest memories of the tour was teaching the game of baseball to Japanese school children who lived near their ship’s base.
In 1957, following his honorable discharge from the Navy, Dick enrolled at the University of Minnesota, where he was active in the university’s Outing Club. He transferred to Springfield College in Springfield, Mass., in 1959, to major in recreation and youth leadership. While at Springfield College, he met the love of his life Brenda (Beyer) Dansingburg. They were married in June of 1960, in Brenda’s family home in Auburn, N.Y.
After receiving his bachelor’s degree from Springfield College, in 1961 Dick began a 12-year career as a district executive with the Boy Scouts of America. He initially worked for the Scouts in Minneapolis, Minn., then went to district offices in Ann Arbor, Mich., and White Plains, N.Y. While at the Washington-Irving Boy Scout Council, he was the director of the newly-developed Explorers Program, which enabled boys and girls of high school age from Westchester and Putnam counties to develop their career interests.
Dick left the Boy Scouts In 1973, and continued his work with youth and young adults with a variety of secondary and postsecondary education programs doing work-study, vocational, and career education, first in Westchester and Putnam Counties, and then in Chenango and Delaware Counties, when Dick and Brenda moved their family of three daughters to Brenda’s hometown, Norwich, N.Y., in 1974. A lifetime passion for assisting youth and young adults in developing their career interests concluded with a position as the job placement coordinator for SUNY Morrisville’s Norwich campus.
Upon his retirement, Dick continued to volunteer with the Boy Scouts in New York State, and later in Chester, Vt., where he and Brenda moved in 2010, to be closer to their daughter Julie and her family. Dick was a longtime lover of the outdoors, especially Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area (B.W.C.A.), and New York’s Adirondack Park, where he enjoyed many canoeing and camping trips with family and friends. He passed on his passion for outdoor activities and adventures to his three daughters and Minnesota nephews Scott and Kent Moe. Dick also enjoyed supporting the Minnesota Twins and Vikings, woodworking projects, and the community he and Brenda found at Broad Street United Methodist Church in Norwich and the United Church of Ludlow.
Dick is survived by his wife of 63 years Brenda (Beyer) Dansingburg of Chester; his daughter Jodi Dansingburg and son-in-law Kevin O’Brien of Rushford, Minn; daughter Julie Dansingburg Kelley and son-in-law Frank Kelley of Chester; daughter Jami Dansingburg of Philadelphia, Pa.; sister Janet Moe of Lake City, Minn.; granddaughter Heather (Mark) Herrmann of Minnetrista, Minn.; grandson Kobi Dansingburg of Minneapolis, Minn.; sister-in-law Betsy Beyer of Waukesha, Wis.; and seven nieces and nephews Scott (Carrie) and Kent (Renee) Moe, Steve (Eleni) and Gary (Betsy) Beyer, Theodore Summers, Wendy Summers, and Kate Beutner.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his granddaughter Marina Kelley; brothers-in-law Ed Beutner, Barry Beyer, Clint Moe, and Ted Summers; and sisters-in-law Judy Beyer and Beverlyn Summers; as well as several beloved family dogs.
A Celebration of Life is being scheduled for June 22, in Chester, Vt. Memorials can be directed to the Green Mountain Council of the Boy Scouts of America, P.O. Box 557, Waterbury, VT 05676, www.scoutingvermont.org; or the United Church of Ludlow, 48 Pleasant Street, Ludlow, VT 05149, www.unitedchurch.us.
Arrangements are entrusted to the care of the Davis Memorial Chapel in Springfield, Vt.