September 2022 Honor A Deceased Veteran- Dale R. French

SEPTEMBER 2022

Dale R. French
1930-2020

FAMILY HISTORY:
Dale R. “Dick” French was born on February 17, 1930 in Lukin Township, Illinois to the late Hillis and Gladys French. He was the brother of Wilbur, Carl, Bob, Jeanne and Wilma.

EDUCATION:
Dick’s family moved to Loudonville, New York in 1932, and in 1947 he graduated from Milne High School.

HISTORY:
Dick was drafted into the United States Army in 1951, and on February 6, 1951 he reported for duty. He served one year in Korea and was assigned to a medical unit with the rank of Corporal. For his service, Dick received the Korean Service Medal with 2 Bronze Stars, United Nations Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal. Dick was discharged from the Army on January 22, 1953.

PERSONAL:
On January 27, 1951, Dick married his wife Carol Mae Riggs in Hudson, New York, and together they have two children: Richard and Dana. Sadly, Carol passed away in 1991. On May 20, 1994 Dick got remarried to Margaret Hanson VanDeusen, and became a stepfather to Lori and Lisa. He was a loving grandfather to Zac, Sarah, Courtney and Erin, and step grandfather to Nicholas, Olivia and Jeffrey, along with many great-grandchildren.

WORK EXPERIENCE:
Dick worked in many different fields of work throughout his life. As a young man, Dick started out being employed by Myers Department Store for several years, and then went on to work at a shoe store in Troy, New York. In 1954, Dick bought a dairy farm with his father in Melrose, New York. It was a running dairy farm until 1982 when he sold the dairy herd and continued running it as a beef and grain farm until it was sold in 1999. Dick was a part-time school bus driver for the Hoosic Valley Central School District from 1955-1982, and then went on to work for the Town of Schaghticoke Highway Department until 1987 when he retired to be a caretaker for his wife, Carol.

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES/ORGANIZATIONS:
Dick was highly active in politics and served as a councilman on the Schaghticoke Town Board for 4 years before moving to Nassau, New York, where he served as a trustee on the Nassau Village Board for 16 years. He was Director of the Schaghticoke Fair for over 50 years and was President for 5 years. Dick was a lifelong member of the Chandler Young VFW Post 8162 in Nassau. During his free time, Dick loved to golf and read, and was an avid NY Yankees and Duke basketball fan.

Sadly, on November 2, 2020 Dick passed away.

Honor A Deceased Veteran Ceremony will be held in the Legislative Chambers of the Rensselaer County Legislature.

For questions or application information, please contact the Legislature at 518-270-2880.