Dr. Richard "Dick" George Landry

Dr. Richard “Dick” George Landry, 81, passed away on November 2nd in Grand Forks, ND.

Son of Rita Rose Landry (Paquette) and Robert Marcel Landry. Dick was born on November 7th, 1942, in Manchester, NH. Growing up in a French-Canadian household, French was his first language only learning English once he had gone to elementary school. He left home at the age of 14 to attend seminary school. After leaving the seminary, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Plymouth College continuing on to receive his M.Ed. in Educational Research from Boston College in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Educational Evaluation and Research from Boston College in 1969.

Dick’s first professional job was with the University of North Dakota teaching Statistics. He was first appointed as assistant professor to the College of Education in 1969. He worked at UND for 41 years, retiring in 2010. 

He received several awards for his work at UND. He was named Outstanding Teacher in the mid-1980s. He was the recipient of the Burlington Northern Foundation Faculty Achievement Award for Excellence in Research in 1989. In 1991 he was named Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor. In 2001 he was named Fisher Endowed Chair in Perpetuity. He received the UND Award for Graduate or Professional Teaching Excellence in 2006. Dick took great pride in his accomplishments at UND with developing and coordinating two doctoral cohorts in Bismarck, ND alongside his wife, Dr. Carla Hess. He has also served numerous doctoral committees and graduated more than 60 doctoral students. He was also a devoted (and forever optimistic) UND sports fan.

Through his life Dick loved bicycling, playing sports, and reading. Later he discovered birding and nature photography. He travelled the world photographing his adventures as he went. Beyond the trips, his favorite pastime was regaling his adventures through presentations eagerly spreading his joy for nature and travel. The highlight of his adventures was taking his daughters on birding trips with him from France, Peru, and even Africa! He gave us the gift of priceless memories that we will never forget. Dick was always up for a new adventure, and it’s not hard to imagine him exploring the universe for us all now. 

He was preceded to heaven by mother, father, two older brothers, Bob and Ron, and his beloved wife and intellectual equal, Dr. Carla Hess. He was survived by his ex-wife and mother of his children Lorraine Tillis (Rowell): their daughters Wendy Washburn of Tampa, FL and her husband Brian, Heidi Landry of Honolulu, HI and Linda Landry of Minneapolis MN and her husband Daniel Pekearo. He was also survived by two stepdaughters, Annalisa Batson of East Grand Forks and her husband Schurkey Swanke and Tonya Sachi of North St. Paul and her husband Paul; five grandchildren: Elisabeth Washburn, Connor Washburn, Zachary Washburn, Spencer Sachi and Steward Sachi; brothers and sisters, Roland, Helen, Denise and Raymond.

Dick was a deeply beloved father, husband, brother, uncle, grandparent and most importantly teacher. While we lost our dad, the world lost a great intellect and mentor in our father. Both stead-fast, stubborn, big hearted and generous, he was a once in a lifetime spirit. His wit and trickster nature always kept us on our toes! His wry sense of humor and innate clumsiness will be proudly carried on by his daughters. Thank you, dad, for giving us everything and expecting so little in return. We miss you dearly and the world won’t be the same without you

Dad would all want us to enjoy a story, memory or just a laugh for him, so we invite all who knew Dick to think of a memory that brings a smile to your day.