Richard Carl Greggs

Sunset Memorial Park
Funeral Home and Crematory, LLC
1700 Barrington Rd. Midland City, AL
(334) 983-6604
Robert and Toni Byrd

www.SunsetMemorialPark.com

Richard Carl “Dick” Greggs, a resident of Dothan passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 23, 2018 at his residence following a long illness. He was 82 years old.

Services will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, 2018 at the Sunset Funeral home Chapel with Rev. Charles Goldsmith officiating and Robert Byrd directing. The family will receive friends from 1-2:00 p.m. prior to the service at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers please donate to the VFW or Landmark Park or the charity of your choice.

Mr. Greggs was born October 13, 1935 in Erie, Pennsylvania and lived all his early life there. This is where he first took up fishing, which was a lifelong interest until he was unable. Trips to Presque Isle were common and he liked to go in the lagoons catching all sorts of fish. He would go after trout and coho salmon too in waders often with his brother Don. The boats kept getting bigger once he moved to Alabama in 1977 and he finished out his fishing days in the Gulf of Mexico. He also had interests in music, played guitar, photography, he took thousands of photos, and movies, he loved certain ones and knew every line, and his pets especially his "magical" blue chow Ghost, and Gus and Julie the Siamese cats.

He married Maria on April 21st, 1963 and they stuck together all the way to the end. She faithfully and selflessly took care of him every day with only a few breaks as he declined.

He graduated from Tech High School in Erie in 1955. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1958 and served two years active duty mainly in Germany as a truck and jeep mechanic. He did not have to fight while in the Army, but he made a lot of good friends and learned valuable skills.

Before the Army his first big job was with Continental Rubber Works in Erie where his lifelong friend Larry Houseal also worked where they were machinists and tool-makers refining their skills. He later worked for and retired from General Electric after 33 years where he progressed on up to a manufacturing engineer position despite no college degree. He was very technically talented and did a lot of innovative work for the company and was later at the forefront of some the first digitally controlled and programmed machines for the automated production of DC electric motors and parts. He was nationally recognized for his work. His programming knowledge was largely self-taught and another example of how he could visualize how to do things and then invent ways to do them. He also taught NC programming at GE for Wallace College. He gained the respect of his managers and peers and was called back after retirement to help with a few problems.

Dick had a great sense of humor, and was usually kind and friendly, but was never one to suffer fools or filter himself much. His plain to profane talk, fair-mindedness and open nature are things that he'll be well remembered for.

He is preceded in death by his parents Donald and Grace Shafer Greggs and his brothers Donald, John and Gerald Greggs and a nephew Cary Greggs. He is survived by his wife of 55 years Maria Titonis Greggs, two sons Michael and Steven Greggs. his sister Nancy Greggs, his cousin Ruth Bertleson, who was more of a sister, 4 grandsons, Richard, Thomas, Michael and Ryan Greggs, 4 nieces Shayne Baker, Ellen Titonis Azurin, Georgia Titonis and Michele Ferrere, 4 nephews, John Greggs, Robert Greggs, Scot Baker and Jason Greggs, and many great nieces and nephews and even more cousins.

The family like to thank Kindred Hospice and Angel Hands Homecare for their compassionate care especially Walter Rich.

Robert Byrd of Sunset Funeral Home, (334) 983-6604, is in charge of arrangements. Please call us or visit www.SunsetMemorialPark.com for more information.