Charles Richard "Dick" Maise

C. Richard Maise
1930-2022
Dick Maise was born in Brooklyn, NY on April 1, 1930, a date that his family has always credited (or blamed) for his sense of humor. He was 91. He grew up in Belleville, NJ. Having been interested in rocks from a young age, (his family saying was that he had rocks in his head, and in his pockets) he graduated from Amherst College class of 1952 with a degree in Geology. He went on to earn a Master’s in Geology from the University of Utah. He worked for a time with the US Geologic Survey before joining the Army. He was stationed at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama as the base geologist. It turned out to be a good posting, as he met a nice young lady there named Ruth Smith. They were married in 1959. When he left the Army in 1958 he took a job as a field geologist with the Arabian American Oil Company in Saudi Arabia. He would spend 25 years there. Living overseas had advantages and drawbacks, one advantage being the opportunity for travel. Dick and Ruth travelled extensively. They did a round-the-world trip in 1964 (with a 2 year old in tow!). There was a month long family safari trip in east Africa, trips to Iran and Hong Kong, and many stopovers in Europe on the way to and from the US. Aramco also sent Dick on business trips to geological conferences world wide, and he always took advantage of the sightseeing in the area. He explored the Canadian Rockies, trekked in Nepal and went scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Dick retired from Aramco in 1983 and the family settled in Decatur, GA. In retirement they continued to enjoy traveling, exploring the US. Summers were mostly spent in a cottage on Loon Lake, a small lake in central NY State, just outside of Dick’s mother’s home town of Wayland. Dick spent several years as a volunteer docent at Fernbank Science Center Museum. He enjoyed showing people through the various exhibits and sharing his knowledge of science in general and geology in particular. He especially enjoyed the children’s hands-on area, helping the school kids work the various gadgets. He had at least as much fun as the kids did, if not more! Dick passed away on January 30, 2022 after a short illness, Ruth having predeceased him in 2017. He is survived by his sister, Audrey King of Edgewater, Florida; daughter Charlene Maise of Orlando, FL; son Eddie and daughter in law Jennifer Maise of Berkeley Lake, GA; 2 granddaughters; several nieces and nephews; and numerous cousins. In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to the Atlanta chapter of Habitat for Humanity, https://give.atlantahabitat.org/give/384681/#!/donation/checkout