Major Richard Robert Moehrke, USMC retired

JACKSONVILLE  -  Richard R. Moehrke (pronounced "murky," like the dirty water at Camp Lejeune) passed away at home watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on August 7, National Purple Heart Day, shortly after being diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer—maintaining his exceptional sense of humor to his last breath. Born July 30, 1951, in Kenosha, Wis., to William Moehrke and Irene née Hurlin, Ric grew up a rabble rouser and successful athlete as captain of the football and swimming teams in high school.

He voluntarily joined the U.S. Army in 1969 and operated heavy equipment in Vietnam, clearing landmines with his 'dozer. Wounded in combat and receiving two Purple Heart medals, he was honorably discharged after a two-year enlistment. He was "edjumahkaydid" (his word) at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, earning his bachelor's degree in accounting, then attended the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School, where he earned his commission as an engineer.

In 1979, there was a unit event at the Paradise Point Golf Club at Camp Lejeune, N.C. Ric had to bring a date and an appetizer, and invited Mira née Smith, who taught him to make wontons for the party. They married in 1980 at the Protestant chapel at Camp Lejeune and set off on a military life together, along with his new stepson, David, with assignments at Camp Lejeune; Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; El Toro, Calif.; and Quantico, Va. While at Fort Leonard Wood, he earned his master's degree in business administration from Webster University. One of his military achievements was helping lead the construction of the vertical-short-takeoff-and-landing runway at Twentynine Palms, Calif. He retired in 1994 as the officer-in-charge at the engineer school at Lejeune having served a cumulative 24 years.

He was an outstanding father and dedicated husband. One of his favorite family activities was riding roller coasters at amusement parks across the country. During those family trips, he would journal, titled "Grilled Cheese Sandwiches I Have Known." Adding to his full-circle life story, he PCSed back to Camp Lejeune, where his daughter, Hannah, was born in 1991. In retirement, Ric became a realtor, in part to have the flexibility to be "Mr. Mom" for Hannah, greeting her (wearing his signature Hawaiian shirts) at the school bus daily. An avid reader, he enjoyed reading Hannah the Harry Potter novels every night before bed. Another of his routines was never missing an episode of Jeopardy! during dinner, which often was one of his signature dishes—pulled-pork Memphis barbeque or grilled "big meat." One of his proudest fatherly moments was walking Hannah down the meandering grass aisle at her wedding.

Ric was a 49-year member of the American Philatelic Society with an extensive international stamp collection. It would have taken him another 73 years working full time to catalog the loose stamps he had stockpiled, which he instructed be donated to Stamps for the Wounded. When he wasn't sorting stamps, doing the daily crossword puzzle downloaded from the Kenosha News, woodworking, tending to his beautiful rose garden, collecting baseball cards, or reading about Russian history, he was building his cumulative 900,000 points in computer solitaire—a record he was so proud of that his laptop from the year 2008 running Microsoft Vista was at the repair shop on the day of his death to save his score.

In the end, he was incredibly impressed by the professional staff and the care he received from at the Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune. During his short stay there, before being transferred to at-home hospice, he amused himself by eating a tomato—something he had managed to avoid his entire life.

Ric is survived by his wife, Mira, of Jacksonville, N.C.; his daughter, Hannah, and her husband, Marine Corps Sgt. Aidan Graham of Temecula, Calif.; his son, retired Air Force Col. David Small of Washington, D.C.; his brother and sister-in-law, Bill and Marian Moehrke of Louisville, Ky.; and his beloved "rats," Penny and Pepper. Ric will be inurned later at Arlington National Cemetery. To celebrate his life in the near term, Mira will host a garden party with close friends to restore his garden to its vibrancy.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a memorial to the Eastern North Carolina chapter of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots drive , a charity the family enjoyed shopping for annually every Christmas—his favorite holiday.