Richard "Dick" C. Jachens' Obituary
Richard C. (Dick) JachensMarch 27, 1920 – September 4, 2010Retired Veteran Dedicated Life to Service of Country, Community and FamilyRichard C. (Dick) Jachens died in Clearwater, Florida on September 4. Born in Brooklyn, New York on March 27, 1920 to Martin and Lucy Jachens, Richard's family emigrated to Leonia, New Jersey in 1922. Richard was the second of three children; his older sister, Ruth and his younger brother, Robert both predeceased him. Richard attended Leonia Public Schools where he was an honor student and athlete. Following graduation from Leonia High School in 1937, Richard attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire where he played freshman basketball, edited the Dartmouth Pictorial magazine and was a member of Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity. He earned an A.B. degree and graduated with the class of 1941. In May of 1942 Richard enlisted in the United States Army as a private. He was subsequently selected to attend Officer Candidate School in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in November of 1942. While serving with the Signal Intelligence Service in Arlington, Virginia during 1942, he met Marianne Dieter at a tea dance in the Willard Hotel. They married on October 11, 1943 in the Chapel at Fort Myer in Arlington, Virginia. He served in France with the 3104th Signal Service Battalion during World War II. Following his discharge in 1945, Richard returned to New Jersey where he worked in the textile industry in New York City. Richard was re-called to military service when the Korean conflict erupted in 1951. Recognizing his calling to public service, he continued to serve the Army in sensitive posts in Asia, Europe and Washington, D.C. His service included a tour in the Pentagon, and the NATO Supreme Al1ied Command Atlantic, in Norfolk Virginia. Richard served as Commanding Officer of the Army Security Agency Group Korea during the tumultuous years 1967 through 1969. He was in command of the Group on January 19, 1968 when a North Korean Army unit attempted to assassinate South Korean President Park Chung-hee. Three days after that attempt was thwarted by a combined force of US and South Korean troops, the North Korean Navy captured the USS Pueblo, a US Navy spy ship which still remains in North Korean hands. Richard also attended the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth Kansas. His final assignment, for which he received the Legion of Merit medal, was as communication security officer at the European command in Stuttgart Germany. During that tour he earned a Master's Degree in Education from Boston University. After retiring from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1972, Richard and his second wife, Virginia Charnley Voigt settled in southeastern Virginia where he worked for the city of Virginia Beach as assistant to the director of the Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Program from I972 to 1977.When Richard retired from that post his sense of community service continued to guide his generous spirit. He served as a lector in St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, a driver for Meals on Wheels and was an active participant in Elder Hostel and the Dartmouth Club of Sarasota where he lived from 1991 until shortly before his death. Richard recently relinquished his duties as Secretary to the Dartmouth Class of 1941, a post he faithfully executed from 1991 to 2010, and for which he was recognized as Secretary of the Year across all classes in 1995.Richard was a devoted and loving husband to Marianne Dieter Jachens who predeceased him in 1963 and to Virginia Charnley Voigt Jachens who predeceased him in 2006. With his characteristic strength and love, he blended his six children into one family who survive him: Patricia Rohme of Wayne, New Jersey; Charles Voigt of Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina; Kathleen Voigt Walsh of Jericho, Vermont; Richard Jachens of Clifton, New Jersey; Richard Voigt of Alexandria, Virginia and Craig Jachens of Clearwater, Florida. His ten grandchildren also survive him: Adrian, Tania, Brian and MaryJane Jachens; Michael, Kate and Sarah Voigt; Ben and Meg Walsh and Daniel Rohme as well as one great grand-daughter, Mia Katherine Rohme. A daughter, Nancy Jachens predeceased him in 1958.Richard will be interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.Richard's family has requested that friends consider contributions to CARE, an international aid organization that Richard supported for many years. CARE can be reached at CARE, Gift Center, PO Box 1870, Merrifield VA 22116-9646, or at www.care.org. Also Suncoast Hospice, 2675 Tampa Road, Clearwater, Fl 34684 http://www.thehospice.orgArrangements under the direction of Moss Feaster Funeral Home, Dunedin, FL.
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