Obituary: Richard Lantz

As received from the  Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home:

Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Lantz passed away on Sunday, May 17, 2020 at Canal View Houghton County Medical Care Center at the age of 88 after a long illness.  He will be deeply missed by his family and friends.

Dick was born on October 3, 1931, in Winona, Minnesota to Dwight and Vivian Lantz.  As the son of a City’s Service representative, Dick and his family relocated several times throughout the Midwest, but always returned to the Copper Country and Eagle Harbor, where the family had a long-established history.

In 1955, Dick enlisted in the U. S. Air Force where he became a pilot.  During his career with the military, he served tours of duty in South Korea and Vietnam, taking time out to finish his college degree program in political history at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.  He retired from the Air Force in 1977 and returned to the Copper Country where he held several executive positions, including fund-raising for the then Suomi College in Hancock, Director of the Keweenaw Chamber of Commerce, and manager of the then Franklin Square Inn in Houghton.

In the late 1990s, Dick retired permanently and moved to the family home in Eagle Harbor where his home was a popular coffee stop for the locals, and family and friends were always welcomed.  He his survived by his son, Michael Richard, of Middleton, New Hampshire; his daughter, Katherine Mary (Joseph) Foster of Allouez, Michigan, three nieces and a nephew, and numerous grand-nieces and nephews.Burial for Dick will be a family affair at Pine Grove Cemetery in Eagle Harbor, and a celebration of Dick’s long and full life will be held at a later this year.  In lieu of flowers, Dick wished any memorial be dedicated to the Copper Country Humane Society.
The Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home in Calumet is assisting the family with the arrangements. Online condolences can be left for the family at Erickson Crowley Peterson Funeral Home, Calumet, Michigan