Obituary for Richard "Dick" Yund
Richard “Dick” Yund, age 86, of Providence passed away May 17, 2020, from congestive heart failure. Dick was born near Farina, Illinois. Although he began life as a farm boy and his education started in a one-room schoolhouse, he went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Illinois. He married his high-school sweetheart, Virginia Lee Smith, and after a post-doc at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington, D.C., moved to Providence to join the faculty at Brown University. At Brown he taught geology and mineralogy, trained graduate students and post-docs, and conducted research in mineral kinetics (publishing more than 70 peer-reviewed journal articles). He did sabbatical work at Monash University in Australia and the University of Kiel in Germany as a Humboldt fellow. In addition to work and family, Dick loved nature (especially bird-watching), travel, and archaeology. He particularly prized memories of trips to Turkey, Egypt, the Galapagos, and the Amazon rain forest. Survivors include his wife of almost 63 years, Virginia Yund, son Philip and daughter-in-law Susanne Meidel, daughter Susan Yund and partner Tracy Hewat, and grandson Jesse Dooling and numerous nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by brothers Harold and Jim and sisters Addie McGuire, Leola Boles, and Phyllis Sigrist. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, 12 Saunderson Rd, Smithfield, RI 02917
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