My cousin Walter Moll sent me the following e-mail, a very nice tribute to my dad. Thanks Walt.
For Uncle Richard, Aunt Helen, Rich, Jackie, Chris, relatives close and extended, and friends;
It is with deep mourning we say good bye to Uncle Richard as he leaves this physical domain but it is with great celebration we know and understand he will be recognized and rewarded for his earthly efforts and it will be no surprise that those efforts will continue through those of us who knew him well.
His valued service calibrating and repairing bomb sites for the Army Air Corp helped bring a horrific world conflict to a positive end a little sooner. One story he always liked to tell and smiled as he reflected on it was a conversation he had with a bombardier on an Allied air base in England. After returning from a mission the bombardier reported the bombsight as not working and the technical specialist, Richard Moll responsible for maintaining and calibrating sights was summoned. After a thorough check of the apparatus the sight was tested and found to be in good working order. With the bombardier looking over his shoulder Specialist Moll smiled and asked, "Did you have it turned on?"
Uncle Richard was that successful rare combination of family man, engineer (draftsman), and religious individual able to balance all three and still relate to the next generation. He was always respected for his personal discipline which he was able to pass on to those of us around him. When you were near Uncle Richard or under his care you always knew where the boundaries were and never considered a close approach. Heaven knows we gave him enough reason growing up to need those boundaries. If he sensed you were about to miss the boat on something he would let you know. Once when other seemingly important priorities took precedence over a glaucoma eye exam he let me know with "no waiting" this was one appointment I shouldn't put off having suffered himself from the disease.
I hope I have passed on to my son, a special education teacher in Harlem, of whom I am very proud, some of the lessons Uncle Richard taught me. May God speed your journey.
Walter Moll
