Richard Standley
Niantic — Richard
C. “Dick” Standley passed away at home Saturday, March 30, 2024, following a fiveyear battle with cancer, with family by his side. He was born in Des Moines, Iowa, Feb. 17, 1947, to Margaret and Carrol Standley.
Dick, a lifelong Hawkeye fan, grew up in Cedar Rapids and graduated from Regis High School, where he enjoyed a successful football career. He then played football at Parsons College before volunteering for the U.S. Army, serving in Vietnam with the 173rd Airborne Brigade. After he returned from Vietnam, he met the love of his life, his wife of 53 years, Diane (Orr) Standley. The two of them raised two beautiful daughters, Molly and Bonnie, in Iowa, before moving to Niantic in the mid-’80s.
Dick left many lifelong friends back in Iowa, but soon made more in Niantic (seems like he had great friends everywhere) as he made himself a big part of the local community. As an owner of Quality Electric, Dick sponsored and helped coach teams in East Lyme Little League and Babe Ruth. He was a member of Saint Agnes Church for over 30 years and was a lifetime member of both the VFW and American Legion.
As an avid hunter and fisherman, he was also very proud of his membership at the Niantic Sportsman’s Club, and his work helping to build its first archery range. Dick loved hunting and fishing. Not many homes in East Lyme had a 360-pound black bear in the family room. For many years, he took his semi-annual fishing trips to Saskatchewan, Canada with friends from Iowa. He made his regular bow hunting trips to Maine, and fishing trips to the Great Lakes with his friends from Connecticut.
While in his late 50s, he traveled with friends by seaplane into the Alaskan Outback for a two-week hunting and fishing trip. He always had a special place in his heart for Maine. He loved going with his family to the Harraseeket Inn, where he would sneak off on midnight walks to LL Bean to find new “toys.”
Later in life, Dick and Diane spent winters at their home in Port Charlotte, Fla., where he continued to enjoy his passions of golf and fishing whenever he could. Once spring came, he was back to Niantic, spending time with his kids and grandkids. Dick was a true “family man.” The thing that made him happiest was spending time with those he loved, especially his grandchildren: Jackson, Maggie, Maddy and Joey.
He was a strong man who never once complained, even at the darkest times during his cancer journey. He was a jokester, and truly found joy in the joy of others. He was generous, non-judgmental and loved fiercely. As his brother Marty said, “Dick could make bad times seem not as terrible, and good times, days that you could remember for a lifetime.”
Dick is survived by his wife Diane; his children Molly Standley and Bonnie Wainwright and her husband Derek; his grandchildren Jackson and Madeline “Maddy” DeWeese, Margaret “Maggie” and Joseph “Joey” Wainwright; his sisters, Sharon (Standley) Stevenson and Jane (Standley) Jacobson; and his brother Marty Standley and their spouses; and nieces and nephews and their children. He is predeceased by his parents, Margaret and Carrol Standley.
Services will be private, and a Celebration of Life will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at the Niantic American Legion. We are hoping that all of his many friends will be in attendance. Memorial contributions in Dick’s memory can be made to a charity of the donor’s choice to benefit the Town of East Lyme. Please visit www.neilanfuneralhome. com to leave the family an