Lt. Col. Richard Edward Gile (Ret.), 92, a resident of Fairhope, passed away Wednesday, April 15, 2015.
He was born in Buffalo, N.Y. in March 1923, and raised in Connecticut until 18 years old.
Richard enlisted in the U.S. Army the day after Pearl Harbor. His military career spanned a period of 23 years active duty and three years in the reserves, the latter between WWII and Korea.
Richard had a diverse career. Initially he was in the Quartermaster Corps, later served in the infantry in combat, and finally as an Army aviator. He was awarded the Bronze Star and a proud wearer of the Combat Infantry Badge awarded only to a select group of infantry whom served in actual combat.
Between the wars, he graduated from New Haven College, Conn., and was employed in industry while attending night classes. He was recalled to active duty at the outset of the Korean conflict. He remained in military service for 18 more years, serving as a paratrooper and an Army aviator and saw service during the Vietnam conflict.
He was proud that he served in all three “wars,” including commanding four infantry companies and an infantry battalion prior to becoming an Army aviator. His final tour of active duty resulted in his recognition that the Army needed the Black Hawk helicopter to succeed the “Huey.”
Following retirement, he was employed by the Army as a principal for the development of a helicopter that eventually became the Black Hawk. He was most proud of his part in bringing the Black Hawk into service.
Following his retirement from Civil Service, he was employed by Hughes Aircraft, moving to California with his current mate, Mary, for four years of service as missile project engineer.
Not content with a couch potato retirement, he taught school for a while, did surveys for Allstate Insurance and was a U.S. Census interviewer in 2000.
If there was a worthwhile civic cause, he would relish the task, loved the theater, dancing, singing in the church choir and delighted in making people laugh with his sense of humor.
He was a longtime member of the First Baptist Church, Destin, Fla., served the city of Destin on several different committees and never paused in his pursuit of living a full life.
Among the things he loved to do was taking music lessons, helping young people to read better and was a longtime advocate of physical conditioning.
Richard was a member of the American Legion, VFW and Elks Lodge 1795. Moving to Enterprise, he joined the First Baptist Church and settled into the slower pace of life in a small town, where his only recognition was being known as Mary’s husband. Richard became a member of the First Baptist Church of Fairhope in 2008.
He was also proud of his conversion to becoming a believer in salvation, attributing this to his spouse, Mary, for her beliefs and inspiration.
He is survived by his loving spouse, Mary W. of Enterprise; a sister, Jacquelyn Jacek of Durham, Conn.; nephew, Greg Jacenko of Conn.; stepsons, Ned Nossaman and his spouse Mary Ellen of Fullerton, Calif., Jim Whigham of Monroeville and Bill Whigham of Texas; other loving relatives and friends.
Funeral services will be held Monday, April 20, 2015, at 10 a.m., at the First Baptist Church of Fairhope.
The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.
Graveside services will be held Monday, April 20, 2015, at 1:30 p.m., at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery at Spanish Fort.
In lieu of flowers, the family request donations be made to The Wounded Warrior Project at www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
Arrangements by Wolfe-Bayview Funeral Home, Fairhope.
