Richard J. Fischli Jr. was born June 15, 1925 at the Fischli Farm 8 miles north of Speed, Kansas.  He passed on August 18, 2019 at the Logan Manor in Logan, Kansas.  Richard attended grades one through eight at Wolf Creek Country School in Speed.  He was proud of walking four miles to and from school each day, which was eight miles round trip.

Richard is preceded in death by his wife, Dolores, his three older sisters, Beatrice Kloepper, Lucille Lloyd, and Mary Fix.  Richard leaves behind a nephew, William (Louise) Fix of Orange, California, two great nieces, Vickie (Walter) Turkowski and Mary (Steven) Cardinal, and great, great nieces and nephews.

At the age of 17, Richard obtained Emergency Teaching Credentials and taught one year in Norton County and two years in Ness City, Kansas.

Richard was drafted into the army in 1950 and discharged in 1952.  During that time, he was married to Dolores N. Wills.  After his discharge from the army, Richard and Dolores moved to Logan, Kansas and farmed for one year.

Both Dolores and Richard were close to graduating from college, so they decided to return to Fort Hays State University (FHSU) where they obtained their Bachelors' and Masters' Degrees.

At the age of 36, Richard had a very serious heart attack, which plagued him the rest of his life.

Richard and Dolores taught two years in Burrton, Kansas and three years in Wichita, Kansas.  Then they moved to California where they taught in the Los Angeles Unified School System until they retired.  Richard then taught in the Education Department of California State University at Northridge.  Richard enjoyed teaching and was proud of the fact that Sally Ride, the first woman astronaut to land on the moon, was a pupil in his science class.  Sally Ride would come back and visit Richard and speak to his classes.

Richard and Dolores built their home in the Santa Monica Mountains in Calabasas and lived there until they returned home to Logan, Kansas in 2010. They celebrated 67 ½ happy years together.

Richard's hobby was investing and he found himself successful.  Having no children of their own, Dolores and Richard decided to use their resources to help others.  They started giving the Fischli-Wills Scholarships in 1997.  Their estate is to be given to FHSU.  With this endowment, FHSU will be fulfilling their wish to establish the Fischli-Wills Center for Student Success, which will be attached to the Memorial Union on campus and will continue to provide scholarships for many NW Kansas area students.

Funeral services will be held Thursday, Aug. 22 at 10:30 a.m. in the Logan United Methodist Church with Pastors Ted Stapleton & Troy Buss officiating.  Burial will follow in the Pleasant View Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Tuesday & noon to 9:00 Wednesday at the Logan Funeral home.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Logan Manor.