More detail on this person: W4 Richard (Dick) La Monica Sr, of Lakewood, Washington passed away at 85 years young on January 6, 2024. He was a loving son, brother, father, uncle, and grandfather. He is survived by his ex-wife Annemarie La Monica, his son Richard Jr. and his wife Shannon, his daughter Diana, and her fiancé Craig, two wonderful grandsons, Corbet and Chase and three nieces Jeanie Bell (Larry), Debbie Choren (Martin), and Patricia Blazek. He is now resting peacefully with his mother, father, and siblings. And without a doubt, Uncle Frank, Tante Inge, Klaus, Heini, and our Oma and Opa will be waiting for him at the Pearly Gates, first to have a long discussion with him, and then to welcome him with open arms. Dick was born in Rome, New York on June 25,1938 to Anthony John La Monica and Nancy Rose Grandy. Dick joined the United States Army on January 16, 1957. While stationed in Mannheim, Germany he met the love of his life, Annemarie Ruger, they married on December 4, 1958. Annemarie's dad, Hans Ruger encouraged Dick to go to flight school, which ended up being one of the best career decisions of his life. He served several tours in Vietnam as a chopper pilot where he received the Distinguished Flying Cross among other Distinguished Medals. In 1964, their first child, Richard was born, and in 1966 they had their daughter, Diana. Dick was in Vietnam when Diana was born. In every birthday card to her, he wrote the words that were radioed to him in flight while piloting his UH-1 Huey, "You have a daughter!". The family stayed in Schwabish Gmund, Germany for 10 years, and then in SHAPE, Belgium for 4 more years. In Belgium Dick flew the Blackhawk for the Commander-in-Chief of the US European Command, General Alexander Haig. During this time, Dick and Annemarie enjoyed military galas and celebrations, and the family was fortunate to travel across Europe experiencing Ski vacations in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, tulips, and windmills in Holland, riding the gondolas, and swimming in the Adriatic in Italy. Dick also spent many nights and weekends coaching his son's football team, the SYS Steelers. In 1979 the family moved to Tacoma, Washington. When Mt. St. Helens erupted in1980, Dick flew several rescue flights to the top of the mountain in search of survivors. After an incredible 26 years, 4 months and 16 days of honorable service, Dick retired from the US Army on June 1, 1983. Dick went on to work for the Bank of America, a Lexus Dealership, Reliance Insurance and then finally Glacier Water Company, LLC. Dick thoroughly enjoyed spending time with his VA buddies and going to his weekly meetings. He also loved his house and always made sure it was in tip-top shape. He could proudly recite most all of the Constitution of the United States, and he would quiz you as often as he could, regardless if you wanted to be or not. He enjoyed spending the holidays with his family. Dick was often called by his military friends, "a force to be reckoned with," but when it came to his flying, he was the pilot they all wanted. He was very much a military man: strict, by the book, and wanted things a certain way. He will be missed by many. In honor of his time here on earth with us, there will be a service with military honors at Tahoma National Cemetery, in Kent, WA on February 5, 2024, at 3:00pm.
Burial information: Tahoma Cemetery
This information was last updated 01/18/2024
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Date posted on this site: 01/11/2025
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