Richard Wayne “Dick” Oswald

Richard Wayne “Dick” Oswald, 84, passed away surrounded by loving family on June 3, 2026.  Dick was born in Clifton, NJ, on March 28, 1942, to John and Judy Oswald.  He graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, NJ, with his Bachelor of Sciences in Electrical Engineering degree in 1963.  He immediately began his career with the Department of Defense, at Naval Training Devices Center on Long Island, NY.  In 1966 the Center moved to Orlando, FL, and so did Dick!  It was here that he met his future wife, Eileen, at a disco party; they married a year later.

Dick worked for the Department of Defense for 35 years, beginning on a design team for helicopter ejection seat devices. In a few years he was moved to the new Apache Helicopter team, where he worked until shortly before his first retirement. Dick quickly became an integral part of this unit, advancing to Project Engineer for the training device.  His integrated systems platforms were state of the art in the 1980’s.  In 1986 several military brass and Dick, the only civilian, were honored with the Daedalian Award for their work on this project.  All Apache pilots had to pass training in this device before they could fly the helicopter.  When Dick retired in 1997, he was part of the Shadow drone group.  After leaving the Department of Defense, Dick continued working on the drone project with contractors until he retired again in 2014.

A kind, loving, gentle man, all who knew Dick appreciated his sly, understated wit.  He was extremely talented in so many ways.  He loved to play his guitar, which accompanied him across the country on RV trips, on his first date with Eileen and up to the weeks before his death with his youngest granddaughters.  Dick also loved photography in the pre-digital era, and his camera and mighty tripod accompanied him during his many travels.  Between work trips and family vacations, Dick visited six continents.  He took his family, even grandchildren, cross country on many camping trips, reaching most states including Alaska and most Canadian provinces.  Skiing, camping, hiking, golfing, snorkeling, sailing and all manner of boating were regular past times, but fishing is what filled Dick’s life with joy.  He was never happier than with a fishing rod in his hand.  Fly fishing was his favorite, but ocean fishing and deep-sea trips, even on his honeymoon, were main stays.  There were many pets in Dick’s life, most not by choice, but he loved them all and was loved in return. While Dick was snorkeling in open ocean water, Lenny, a Doberman, felt he had swum too far.  He jumped off the boat to rescue Dick, but in the end, it was the rescuer who needed rescuing!

Talented in so many ways, Dick could fix almost anything, loved to tinker, solve problems and work with leather or wood. He built cabinets, cases, shelves and beautiful chests for his grandchildren. Dick generously helped people, whether fixing cars, repairing broken items, or filleting fish on a river bank. Dick is survived by his wife of 58 years, Eileen, and their three sons: Jeff and wife Susan, Steve and wife Shadia, Dave and wife Sarah. He left five grandchildren: Lucas, Paige, Parker, Juniper and Maple. Susan’s son, Ben Wilkinson and wife Stephanie are loved as grandchildren, making Arlo and Maeve honorary great grandchildren. Dick is also survived by his first cousin, Don Oswald and wife Diane in NJ.

A member of Good Shepherd Catholic community since 1967, Dick was an assistant Boy Scout leader for Troop 25 for several years. A founding member of St. Isaac Jogues Catholic Church, Dick served as chair of the building committee, trekking fields and acreage looking for the parish’s future home, then working on the building design with the architect. A funeral Mass presided over by Fr Terry Niziolek, M.S. will be held on Friday, June 26, 2026, at 1 pm at Good Shepherd Church, 5900 Oleander Drive, Orlando, followed by a celebration of Dick’s life. If desired, donations in Dick’s memory may be made to: Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Orlando (www.feedhopenow.org) or Blood Cancer United (www.bloodcancerunited.org)