Richard Bury (ENRE)

Richard (Dick) Bury passed away at age 95 at his home in Asheville, North Carolina, with his family by his side on August 23. He is survived by his loving wife of 71 years, Ann, of Givens Retirement Community, Asheville; his daughter and her husband, Goldie and George Terrell of Blacksburg, Virginia; his daughter and her husband, Margaret and Douglas Fraiser of Arden, North Carolina and Chiang Mai, Thailand. He is also survived by one granddaughter, two grandsons and their wives, and four great grandchildren, two nieces, and two nephews.

Dr. Bury was born in Columbus, Ohio, and spent his formative years in Cincinnati, Ohio. From his father he learned a love of fine music and the joys of playing piano, which he continued for most of his life. From his mother he inherited an interest in striving for excellence in many types of handcrafts. Membership in the Boy Scouts taught him skills and moral guidelines while working his way up to Eagle Scout rank.

Dick graduated from Purdue University with a degree in Forestry, after which he was drafted by the Army, where he volunteered for parachute training in the 11th Airborne Division. Following his discharge, he used his GI Bill benefits to enroll in a Master of Science program in Environmental Studies at Yale University and a PhD program in Natural Resource Economics at the University of Connecticut. Dick’s jobs included working on the Klamath National Forest; the Forest Research Station in Berkeley, California; teaching Forest Recreation at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, Arizona; teaching Outdoor Recreation at Texas A&M University (one summer of that time investigating Ranger activities at Glacier National Park, plus a year in the Recreation Division of the Washington, DC, office of the US Forest Service); and three years as Branch Chief of Outdoor Recreation in the Morale Support Division of the US Army in Nuremberg, Germany.

During their marriage, Dick and Ann enjoyed hiking, tent camping, backpacking, white-water canoeing, and sailing together. Their longest-lasting hobby has been dancing, for which they were well known at Givens Estates. During Dick’s retirement years they made their home in Asheville and travelled extensively with their motor home across the United States several times as well as in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Dick volunteered extensively with international student organizations, the Girl Scouts’ Camp Howdy, College for Seniors, Cradle of Forestry, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, and Hall-Fletcher Elementary School. At Givens Retirement Community, he organized and participated in many groups and projects. To Dick’s great delight, the Burys took in many pets for short visits while their owners were away.