Richard H. Foege's Obituary
Richard Foege
The Rev. Dr. Richard “Dick” H. Foege, 78, of Tacoma, WA passed unexpectedly on Monday, December 7, 2015 and joined the church triumphant. He was the fourth of six children born to Rev. William A. and Erika Anne Foege in Decorah, IA, on October 18, 1937.
In his youth, he was known for his playful nature, his industriousness and ability to get into mischief. He was a good student with an appreciation for music and athletics. After graduating from Colville (WA) High School in 1955, he attended Pacific Lutheran College, Tacoma, WA, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in 1959.
He continued his post-graduate education; enrolling in seminary, because he thought “it would be interesting.” During this time, he met and fell in love with a young music teacher named Mary Guenther. They were married in Des Moines, IA, July 17, 1962. Their first son, Mark, was born a year later.
He graduated from Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN, was ordained in Walla Walla, WA, and accepted a letter of call to the mission field, moving his family to Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Their youngest son, Tom was born a year later. During this call, he successfully started a new congregation in Hamamatsu.
In 1969, he accepted a call to serve Emmanuel Lutheran Church and began a long and successful ministry in the north end of Tacoma, WA. He touched many thousands of lives with his teaching, counseling, comforting, preaching and sharing the love of Jesus Christ. He had a special place in his heart for those who were suffering and was drawn to comfort those in physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual pain.
Consistently throughout his ministry, he called all to hear the Word of the Gospel and participate in the Sacraments. He earned recognition as a sound theologian with a deep understanding of stewardship.
He served multiple assignments with the national church body including 2 years as the Associate Director of Momentum for Mission with the American Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN.
Dick was committed to life-long learning and he earned his Master of Business Administration in Pastoral Planning and Church Management as well as his Doctorate in Theology from Graduate Theological Foundation in Mishawaka, IN.
A loving and affectionate man, he was renowned for his sense of humor, his proclivity for pranks, his generosity and sense of family. Friends knew him as a fierce competitor, no matter the stakes. Whether it was a trivia contest, a game of cards, “the paper game” (a barbaric form of tag played with a rolled up newspaper), or a completely made-up game, playing for 2nd place was not an option.
He was a fan of many sports and teams, but was always the biggest fan of his children and grandchildren. From concerts to plays, from dance performances to countless track meets, soccer, basketball, baseball and football games, Dick rarely missed watching them play or perform. And he always had an encouraging word to share afterward.
Few things were as satisfying to Dick as telling a good story, especially one with a good punch line. This was true in a one-on-one conversation, a classroom or from the pulpit.
He truly enjoyed travel to far away lands with his wife including many countries of Asia, Europe and the Holy Lands. Later in life, he also found time on Maui to be special and rejuvenating.
He is survived by: his wife of 53 years, Mary, son Mark, daughter-in-law, Charelle, and their children, Kyle and Alec of Gig Harbor, WA, and son Tom, daughter-in-law, Vicki, and their children, Logan and Luke, of Kent, WA. He also leaves behind siblings and their families; Col. Adalbert and Mildred Toepel (US Army, Ret.) of Eugene, OR, Drs. Frederick and Grace Holmes of Lenexa, KS, Dr. William and Paula Foege of Atlanta, GA, Neal and Annette Stixrud of Portland, OR, Lee and Carolyn Hellberg of Walla Walla, WA, and many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents, his grandson, Brock Foege, his niece, Cindy Holmes and his nephew David Foege.
Public visitation will be held Friday, December 18th from 12-8 pm at Mountain View Funeral Home.
Funeral services will be held at Emmanuel Lutheran Church (1315 North Stevens Street, Tacoma, WA) on Saturday, December 19th at 1:00 PM. A reception will be held at Emmanuel at 3:00. He will be laid to rest in a private ceremony at Mountain View Memorial Park.
For those wishing to offer a memorial, and in lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to either
the Emmanuel Lutheran Church Endowment Fund c/o the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation or Lutheran World Relief.
“Well done, good and faithful servant!” – Matthew 25:23
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