Richard Donald Katstra

10/11/2014

Richard Donald Katstra, better known as Dick Katstra, passed away on October 11, 2014 at 5:04 pm in the comfort of his residence in Warwick, NY, in the loving arms of his friend, partner and husband, Cesar Venegas.

Born on November 6, 1935 at Hackensack Hospital, NJ, he was the son of Jan Katstra and Helen Chmielowiec.

He was married to his friend and partner of 27 years, Cesar Venegas.

He is also survived by his older brother, John Katstra and his wife, Trudy, and his nieces and nephew, Liza, Katy and Jon Katstra.

He went to Wallington Elementary School in NJ and graduated from East Rutherford High School, NJ in 1953. He went to Virginia Tech, where he graduated with a Bachelors in Chemistry and a Masters in Physics. Soon after he graduated, he was drafted by the Army, where he was hired to work for the Defense Nuclear Agency. During this period, he was stationed in Texas, Arizona and Hawaii. After being discharged from the Army, he worked at Witco, Conoco, Avon Products and Mona, retiring in 2000. He had nine patents in a group with other people: one for Witco (1972), one for Conoco (1972), one for Avon products (1988) and six for Mona (1999)

Visitation will be on Friday, October 17, from 2-4 & 7-9 pm at Lazear-Smith & Vander Plaat Memorial Home, 17 Oakland Ave., Warwick. Funeral Mass will be at 10:00 am on Saturday at St. Stephens RC Church, followed by interment in Warwick Cemetery.

Memorial donations in his name may be sent to American Parkinson Disease Association, Inc., 1250 Hylan Blvd., Suite 4B, Staten Island, NY 10305 or Alzheimers Association, 2 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 103, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.

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Your patience and understanding is greatly appreciated . Your services to George and our family were above and beyond our expectations. Thank you never seems sufficient when the situation appears and is often overwhelming. Your concern for us and our guests will never be forgotten.

... throughout these back to back losses, your gracious concern and professionalism made the time special.

.. not only are you the best - but the town / village of Warwick respects you very much. All with good reason.

I just wanted to thank you and your staff for making Mom’s Memorial Service a success. We appreciate your professionalism and attention to detail.

I believe Mom would have been very pleased with the whole production. Thanks again for making Mom’s day a special memory for our family and friends.

Thank you for all your kindness, compassion and walking me through this very difficult journey with ease. The services were perfect and beautiful because of you. You are very special people and I will never forget you.

Richard Donald Katstra

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