Richard Albert Sanders

Dr. Richard Albert Sanders (Dick), 93, of Prescott, AZ died March 31st, Easter Sunday 2024, surrounded by family. Dick was born August 30th, 1930, in Portsmouth, Virginia, the son of Albert Earl Sanders and Jean May (Anderson) Sanders. Dick’s dad was a career Navy Chief so he moved many times, back and forth from east coast to west coast, in his childhood. As a young boy in Maryland, he lost both of his young sisters, Lorraine older and Sylvia younger, to an illness, possibly meningitis. His mom helped cultivate his love of books, poetry and music, and taught him to sew and cook. His dad, ever the sailor, taught him the value of two minute showers and table manners (Elbows out? Rig in your booms!), and how to make anything with his hands and the right tools. Dick’s dad made him a shoe shine kit, and throughout his childhood he shined shoes by the Navy piers to make extra money. In junior high he learned to play saxophone and by high school in Bremerton, WA had his own swing band that played at dances and parties. In Bremerton he discovered the beauty and challenge of the Cascades, and deepened his love and respect for the wild places and the ocean. His California days took him closer to many of his cousins and gave him opportunities to learn how to swim and surf.

He met the love of his life, Kathleen Mary (Kline) Sanders in the winter of 1950 in Sun Valley, Idaho, where she was working as a “cabin girl” and he as a “night boy”. They were both excellent skiers in their spare time, and after a winter working together decided to elope on April 15, 1951. To this union 5 children were born. Dick was a loving husband and father, and passed along his love of learning, amazing work ethic, respect for natural places, love of cats, and sense of adventure to his children. Dick was not raised Catholic but upon marrying Kathy promised to raise his children in the Catholic faith. He was active in his parish, loved to lector, knew the prayers better than anyone, but waited until all his children had moved away from home to fully enter the church. He encouraged each of his children to follow their dreams, and supported them in any way he could. Dick had a special relationship with each and every one of his grandchildren and loved them dearly.

Dick was a lifelong learner who truly appreciated the value of education. He earned a BA in English and a BA in Elementary Education from Western Washington State in 1951. He went on to teach in elementary schools in Denver, CO, Jackson Hole, WY, Globe, AZ, and for a year in Mazatlán, Mexico where he taught high school English and his growing family learned Spanish. In 1959 he moved his family to Fayetteville, AR to pursue graduate studies in Clinical Psychology. He learned how to build and create things, working often with his children on unending projects in his garage -car engines, canoe building, cabinetry, rock tumbling, lathe work - all the way to building an ultralight plane.

After completing his PhD in 1962, Dick and family, with all their possessions in a Volkswagen van, moved to Norfolk, NE. Dick began his career as a Clinical Psychology Intern at Norfolk State Hospital. Community mental health was virtually unknown in the 1960s and much of Dick’s long career as a clinical psychologist involved pioneering community mental health centers across the northern half of Nebraska, in a time when people with mental illness and those with intellectual challenges were isolated and hidden away in institutions. Dick believed that mental, physical and spiritual health were interconnected, promoting good health practices in any way he could. (Dick was ferociously anti-cigarette and banned smoking in all of his mental health clinics, decades before this was the norm.) He became the Director of the Northeast Nebraska Mental Health Clinic in 1967. Dick went on to found community mental health clinics, half way houses, head start programs, and other health initiatives in rural towns across northern Nebraska, and in southern South Dakota where he consulted with the Indian Health Service. Dick was also an Associate Professor at Wayne State College from 1963 to 1971, and a part time faculty at Creighton University, 1976-1978, teaching college psychology classes in the evenings after a full day of work in mental health clinics. He served as a consultant for many mental health outreach programs, was twice appointed to the Governor’s Nebraska Commission on Drugs, and served as president of three of his professional mental health associations. In every aspect of his professional life, Dick advocated for the marginalized. Dick served on governing boards for numerous health, community outreach, and environmental organizations.

Dick loved to hike, camp, and explore, climbing Mt. Rainier as a teenager, and hiking and camping throughout the western national parks and forests. He took his family camping each summer where everyone could learn about fishing, geology, natural history, stars, beach combing, and the magic of a campfire. He and Kathy continued to travel extensively after the kids left home, often to visit one of their children who lived at various times all over the US, and in Mexico and Canada. In the early 1960s Dick discovered another love - flying. His pilot’s license, instrument rating, and Cessnas allowed him to get to and from his rural mental health clinics in a day so he could spend more time with family. Flying also allowed Dick and Kathy to travel farther afield to visit friends and family, attend air shows and fly-ins, and even fly to the Bahamas a few times. In the 1980s, Dick bought a used Subaru and a month later, in mid-winter, he and Kathy drove to Fairbanks, Alaska. Nothing was better than a new adventure, except maybe a new operating system once personal computers were born. In his later years Dick was an active advocate for environmental causes, especially those focused on conservation efforts, and he and Kathy were avid birders.

Once Dick retired, he and Kathy decided to settle in Prescott, AZ. They bought a house in the pines in the late 1990s and quickly became active members of the community. He continued to hike and explore, his crowning achievement a multi-day family backpacking adventure in the Pariah Canyon Wilderness. He and Kathy were immersed in service to their community and parish. Dick and Kathy appreciated the arts and loved Prescott’s rich artistic community. Everywhere he went, Dick was an instrument of peace and justice.

Dick is survived by Kathy Sanders, his beloved wife of nearly 73 years; his children Brian (Wendy) Sanders of New Hartford, NY, Eric Sanders of Cedaredge, CO, Sally Sanders of Prescott, Paul Sanders of Norfolk, NE, and Nancy (Brian Degenhardt) Sanders of Kirksville, MO. Dick is also survived by his ten grandchildren, Lanika; Beth, Sarah & Kyle; Timilin, Dylan & Tempest; Daniel, Chiara & Brennain, and 12 great grandchildren.

A Funeral Mass will be held at Sacred Heart Church, Prescott, on April 15, 2024 at 11:00, preceeded by the Rosary at 10:30 and followed by a luncheon in the lower level of the church. The family asks that you dress joyfully and casually, and please wear your hiking boots. Inurnment will take place at a later date, in Ouray, CO. In lieu of flowers please consider a donation to The Nature Conservancy, iCARE Adult Day Center of Prescott, AZ, Maggie’s Hospice of Prescott, AZ, or Margaret T. Morris Center of Prescott, AZ.