| Richard A. "Dick" Fleek, 82, of Pike Street, Elizabeth, a
Mineral County and long-time Wirt County soil conservation officer Richard "Dick" Fleck, 82, of
Elizabeth, passed away Dec. 23,
2002, in Mark Rest Center, McConnellsville, Ohio, following an extended illness.
Active with the 4-H program, he was selected to the West Virginia All-Stars. He
retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture with more than 31 years of
service, having moved to Elizabeth in 1964 to serve the Wirt County communities
as the soil conservation officer. He was a member of the Wirt County Lions
He was a 1938 graduate of Keyser High School and in 1949, earned a bachelor's
degree in agriculture from West Virginia University where he was a member of
Alpha Gamma Rho agricultural fraternity.
Fleck was a U.S. Navy veteran of World
War II, having served in the South Pacific as an aviation machinist mate first class.
He was a survivor of the USS Ommaney Bay, a carrier which was sunk in the
Sulu Sea, near the Philippines, on Jan. 4, 1945 . He was a member of the
American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, both in Romney.
He was a member of the Wirt County Lions Club
and Elizabeth United Methodist Church.
As a result of his commitment to
programs for children and his work on conservation in Wirt County, in the early
1990s he was honored by having the baseball field renamed the "Dick Fleek
Field." This is utilized by Little League teams as well as the Wirt County High
School baseball program.
He is survived by two sons and their wives, John and Diana Fleek of Cross
Lanes, David and Tanda Fleek of Parkersburg; a daughter, Susan Fleek of
Hebron, Conn.; three grandchildren, Gregory Fleek of Hilton Head, S.C., Lia
Fleek Harvey and Caroline Fleek, both of Parkersburg; and two
great-grandchildren.
Service will be 11 a.m. Friday, Dec. 27, at Busch Funeral Home, Elizabeth, with
the Rev. Harold Francis and the Rev. Robert Stanley officiating. Burial will follow
in the Knights of Pythias Cemetery, Elizabeth, where military honors will be
rendered by representatives of the U.S. Navy.
Friends may call from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the funeral home.
In lieu of other memorials, donations may be made to the Huntington's Disease
Society of America, c/o Busch Funeral Home, P.O. Box 43, Elizabeth, WV
26143.
Condolences may be e-mailed to the family at buschfuneralhome@charter.net.
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