Death of a Classmate - Leonard M. Dickey --2nd Co.

Leonard M. Dickey 87 died on 12 September 2017 of coronary artery disease. Len was born in Aberdeen and raised in Hoquiam, Washington. After high school he was a Seaman Apprentice USNR for over a year. He also attended Bullis Preparatory School and gained his Washington appointment by successfully passing the Competitive Substantiating examination. Len was in the Second Company, and lived in the First Wing of Bancroft Hall. At graduation, he was commissioned an Ensign, US Navy Line. Eight days later he married his OAO (his high school sweetheart) Mary Lou Owens in Hoquiam, Washington.

Len's first assignment was USS EPPERSON, DDE-719 operating out of Pearl Harbor, Honolulu, Hawaii. During this assignment she operated mostly in the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) and managed to play dodge-ball with many typhoons during the wet season. In May 1957 Len was assigned to the Fleet SONAR School, San Diego, California where he was an Anti-Submarine Warfare instructor. In June 1959 he was assigned to USS CASA GRANDE LSD-13 operating out of Norfolk, Virginia. That September Len submitted his resignation from active duty to pursue civilian work opportunities.

His first position was with Minneapolis Honeywell Corporation, West Covina, California, where he was a Field Service Representative for the ASROC system for nine years. He then transferred to Seattle, Washington where Len worked on special programs. In the early 1970's, Len worked on a special "Black" program in support of the Hughes Glomar Explorer Project to recover manganese nodules or "other items" off the Pacific ocean floor at a depth of 18,000 feet. The real reason for the Glomar Explorer project was a Navy - CIA attempt (Project Azorian) to retrieve a sunken nuclear-armed Soviet Submarine. In the retrieval attempt the submarine fell apart, sank, and most of it became unrecoverable. In January 1984 Len accepted a position with a division of RCA located in Camden, New Jersey (which ultimately became part of the Lockheed-Martin Corporation), where he was an Administrative Manager of "Black" programs. In February 1996 he retired from Lockheed-Martin and returned to the magnificent Pacific Northwest to settle in Shoreline, Washington where he and family enjoyed the great outdoors.

Len is survived by Mary Lou, his loving wife of 63 years, three children: Mark, Brien, and Annalise (Emil) Beck; and one grandchild. At Len's request there was no memorial service or newspaper obit. Len's cremains will be committed to the Pacific deep.