Richard ""Dick"" C. Lindmark

Richard Clayton Lindmark, Sr., age 93, of Litchfield, MN, died at the VA Medical Center in St. Cloud on August 2, 2016. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. Friday, August 5 at the Church of Our Lady in Manannah. Visitation will be from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the church. Interment will be in the Church of Our Lady Catholic Cemetery in Manannah. Military Honors will be provided by the Litchfield Military Honor Guard. Richard Clayton ""Dick"" Lindmark, Sr. was born February 24, 1923 to Robert and Anne (Domian) Lindmark. Dick was born in St. Paul, MN, but the family soon moved to Eau Claire, WI where he and his brother Robert grew up. In the fall of 1940, his senior year of high school, Dick and his mother temporarily relocated to Phoenix for her health. As a result, Dick graduated from Phoenix Union High School, but more importantly, he met Agnes ""Pat"" Price, his future wife. Pat gave him a box of stationery for graduation, and they fell in love by mail - first as he attended Columbia University and then during World War II. Drafted from Columbia to the 7th Regiment of the 1st Cavalry Division, Dick served in the Pacific Theater. He saw action as a radio operator in campaigns that included Leyte Gulf, Manila, and the Admiralty Islands. After the war, he returned to Minneapolis where his mother and Pat were living. Dick and Pat married January 22, 1946 at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Minneapolis. They were blessed with four children. Dick worked in the optical field his entire life. Always an inventor, he developed a new technique for manufacturing custom artificial eyes. He later helped develop contact lenses and founded two companies - Physicians Contact Lens & Prosthesis Service in 1965 and later Flexlens. His work continued even into retirement when he obtained three patents for devices to measure the eye. A true renaissance man, Dick sang and played the piano, built an addition to the family home, and flew his own Cessna. Dick loved all things technological from building his own computers to emailing in his 90s. He was also a man of faith. He joined the Catholic Church in 1987 and his faith and family were the most important parts of his life. The Lindmarks lived a number of places - Los Angeles; Eau Claire, WI; Hopkins, MN; and Butler, WI. By the end of his career, Dick and Pat divided their time between Butler and Rio Rancho, NM where they ultimately retired. They loved to travel, though, and pulled their travel trailer across the US regularly, usually on long visits to their children and many grandchildren. When Pat died in 2007, Dick moved back to the Midwest and settled at Emmaus Place in Litchfield where he lived for 9 years. In his last months, he lived at the VA Medical Center. Dick is survived by his four children: Dick (and Mary) of Andover, MN; Diana (and Michael) McCarney of Litchfield, MN; Roger of Los Angeles; and Betsy (and Vic) Ronk of Waukesha, WI. He is also survived by eleven grandchildren: Jenny Lindmark Callahan, Amy Lindmark Audette, Sandy Lindmark Audette, Patrick Lindmark, Anne McCarney, Katie McCarney Campbell, Mary Beth McCarney Plucinski, Joseph McCarney, Jessica Ronk, Kevin Ronk, and Ali Ronk; twelve great-grandchildren; and his brother Robert. He was preceded in death by his wife Pat, his parents, and other relatives.Previous Events Visitation Friday, August 5, 2016 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Church of Our Lady 57382 CSAH 3 Manannah, MN 56243 Visitation Friday, August 5, 2016 10:30 AM Church of Our Lady 57382 CSAH 3 Manannah, MN 56243 Visitation Friday, August 5, 2016 11:30 AM Church of Our Lady Catholic Cemetery Manannah, MN