Richard Leon Apple, 90, passed away on Wednesday, March 15, 2024, at Merritt Island, Florida, following a brief illness.
Born in Albany, New York, he was the son of the late Chester W. and Katherine (Rapp) Apple, and stepmother Esther (Reil) Apple. He is also predeceased by his brother, Clifford Apple, and sister, Doris Apple; his stepbrothers James Reil and Walter Reil and his stepsister, Mary (Reil) Halloran; and his first wife, Irene (Kehoe) Apple, who was the mother of their three children including Susan Ann Apple who passed away tragically in 1961 when she was 4 years old.
He leaves his wife of over 50 years, Ginger (Gritzmaker) Apple; his son, Scott Richard Apple and his wife Kathy (Ely) Apple; his daughter, Mary Margaret (Peggy) Apple-Woods, and her husband Dana Woods; his brother’s wife, Joan (Murray) Apple; a grandson, several nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews, and one great-grand niece and two great-grand nephews; plus many very close friends from around the world.
In his early years, Richard attended Primary School 1 in Albany, New York, Schuyler Junior High School, and Albany High School. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 17, 1950, and served in Germany for more than 3 years. Upon returning, he enrolled at Ithaca College and graduated in 1958. He relocated to Chicago in 1964 and worked in Highland Park, Illinois, from 1965 to 1970. He obtained his Masters Degree from Roosevelt University in 1968.
In 1970 Richard went overseas to work in Athens, Greece, where he met his wife, Ginger. From there, Richard and Ginger continued their careers in international education working in several more countries including Zambia, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Chile, Scotland, Norway, Belgium and England. Both also returned to the United States for two years to work together doing advanced graduate work at the psychology department at Miami University of Ohio. Additionally, Richard built and served as Director of the International School of Johannesburg, South Africa, and was presented the National Distinguished Principal Award in Washington D.C. while working in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Richard was an avid sportsman and played at the collegiate level in football, wrestling and gymnastics. He also enjoyed snow skiing, swimming and sailing. He was an accomplished photographer and artist. His art collection contains several oil paintings and water colors that he did from his travels around the world. He loved to cook and he loved to dance like “Zorba the Greek”. His knowledge of all genres of music was truly amazing and he would always sing along with Frank Sinatra and would want to be remembered by a line in his song: “I did it my way”.
Richard (Dick) had a passion for life, an infectious laugh and a wonderful charismatic personality that always endeared him to his many colleagues, friends and family. He will be remembered fondly by all who knew him!