Richard "Dick" J. Caetano's Obituary
Richard “Dick” James Caetano, 85, of San Diego passed away unexpectedly on January 25, 2019. He is survived by 6 children, Lisa (Dave Parkin), Paul (Johanna), Elisabeth (Terry Rhodes), Kristyn, Julie & Kevin; 6 grandchildren; Matthew, Jeffrey (Aurora), Rebecca, Axel, Clara & William, and a great granddaughter, Juniper. His brothers, Robert (Lisette) and Roger (Shirley) and Emil also survive him as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
At 85 he was still living independently, driving, and working out at the gym 5 times per week. He had an incredible sense of humor, and his mind was sharp. He loved doing crossword puzzles, playing trivia, and was a voracious reader. He enjoyed sharing his many adventures including his travels to 189 countries, hiking the John Muir trail at age 62, and many more. He was a kind, generous man and was always concerned about the well being of others, especially his family.
Richard was born January 4, 1934 in Sacramento to Manuel Silveira and Dorothy Elizabeth (Joyce) Caetano. Richard attended Immaculate Conception grade school and Christian Brothers High School in Sacramento. Upon graduation in 1951 he attended the University of San Francisco on a scholarship for one year. He then volunteered for the Navy during the Korean War and served as an Aerographer’s Mate on the USS Salisbury Sound. Upon completion of his service, Richard then attended Sacramento State College, where he was a starting forward on the basketball team. He graduated in 1959 with a BA degree in Mathematics. His first employment out of college was at Aerojet in the emerging field of Computer Science.. He later worked for Computer Science Corporation in Hawaii and in Tehran, Iran. He retired after working 23 more years at the Naval Ocean Systems Center (NOSC, later known as SPAWAR) at Naval Base Point Loma.
A funeral mass will be held on Saturday, February 9th at 9:30 am, at St. Mary Magdalene Catholic Church, 1945 ILLION St., San Diego, CA 92110, with a Celebration of Life reception to follow at the Soledad Club at 5050 Soledad Rd., San Diego, CA 92109. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to either Project Wildlife San Diego http://www.projectwildlife.org/ or Father Joe’s Villages https://my.neighbor.org/.
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