Richard Gordon Stout

Richard Gordon Stout was born on November 10, 1938 in Brooklyn, New York. His father, Stewart, retired as a captain in the Army after WWII, having served under General Patton, after which he worked in the brokers loan department of Chase Bank. His mother was the former Margaret Hansen.

Richard attended Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn then graduated from Hempstead High School on Long Island in three years instead of four, despite the move. After graduating he attended Hofstra University where, while working at two jobs in order to finance his studies, he joined the Lacrosse team and participated in other activities such as singing. (Later in his life he would coach children's lacrosse.) After graduation from Hofstra with a degree in economics and business finance in 1963, Richard began working for Chase Bank.

Two years later the desire to serve in the military led him to join the Navy, where he was commissioned as an officer and began to fly assault helicopters. In 1967 he began a one-year tour in Vietnam, during which he flew close to 300 combat missions and received the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross. He was later stationed in Naples, Italy, where he worked training other pilots to fly helicopters, transported senior officers and dignitaries as needed, and flew rescue missions.

In 1974 he was discharged from the Navy and returned to New York, and in the years that ensued he continued his studies, receiving degrees in International Business from New York University and European Integration from Boston University. He began working for Bankers Trust where he stayed until 1983, frequently traveling to assist in setting up international banks.

After other ventures, including a mail-order clothing business with his wife, in 1992 Richard began working as a consultant in IT, doing computer programming and assisting businesses in transitioning to new program systems. He continued working in this field, often doing contract work for the US government and Pentagon, until his retirement.

Richard described himself as "a democrat, an avid pro-feminist, and a strong supporter of civil rights." During the last years of his life he supported numerous liberal initiatives on-line. He spent the last eight years of his life living with his sister Karin and her husband Gordon in Bixby, Oklahoma, and passed away on June 21, having moved to Saint Simeon's Senior Living Community in Tulsa five days earlier.

Richard is survived by his sons Andrew, who lives in southeastern France where he operates a bed and breakfast and a fledgling organic fruit and vegetable business; Everett, who works as a photographer and tile-layer and works for UPS in Denver; and Stewart, who works as a data analyst for L. L. Bean in Maine; as well as his daughter Katie, who works as a furniture designer in New York. Richard also has seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his younger sister, Christine.

His presence, soft voice, beautiful story-telling, and dark, quirky sense of humor will be missed dearly.