Richard Farland

Richard Dean Farland

7/18/1951 - 1/26/2025

Rick was born in Washington, on Fort Lewis Army Base, on July 18, 1951 to parents Jim and Molly Farland. Rick spent most of his childhood growing up in the Minnehaha area of Vancouver, at the home of his grandparents Dean and Astrid Browne, and, during his high school years, with his mother Molly in Portland, Oregon.  

His father, Jim, was in the Air Force, and Rick spent part of every summer with him, his step-mother Shirley, and siblings Joan and Jimmy in Spokane, where his dad was stationed. When Jim traveled to Vancouver to see Rick, they would often go to Pearson Field and watch the planes take off and land. Planes had always fascinated Rick. From the time he was a young boy growing up in Vancouver, Rick would run outside whenever he heard an airplane up above.

His grandparents were a big influence on his life. Grandpa Dean was a hard working and compassionate man, and a good role model for Rick. He taught Rick how to fish, hunt, and work on car engines. They’d spend hours together.  Grandma Astrid was always cooking something in the kitchen from their ample garden. She often baked homemade bread and treats, and knowing that Rick was restless and hard to nail down, she would always leave a plate of goodies on the corner of the kitchen table, so he could grab something on the run as he went out of the house with the screen door banging closed behind him. From a young age Rick was always occupying his time doing things he liked. Being outdoors hunting, fishing and camping. Looking at the stars, and working on motors or  tinkering with anything that needed to be fixed.  Rick was a curious young man, so curious that he would often take things apart just to figure out how they worked by putting them back together again.  He had a knack for repairing all sorts of things. 

Rick’s childhood best friend, Tony, lived next door. They were always together, riding bikes, picking plums and apples off the trees in the summertime, and sometimes getting into mischief. As they grew up, they liked to go pheasant and duck hunting in the nearby fields and marshes. Years later, Tony served as best man at Rick‘s wedding.

Rick graduated from Lincoln High School in Portland in 1969. He quickly signed up to serve his country in the United States Army rather than being drafted.  Rick was enlisted from 1971-1973 and served six months in the Vietnam War as a Field Artillery Crewman. 

After returning home from his tour in  Vietnam, he spent his remaining time in the army stationed in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he joined the Army flying club, finally fulfilling his childhood dream of learning to fly. In 1972 Rick earned his private pilots license, at Fort Carson in a Cessna T-41. He gained valuable experience mountain flying, and learned skills he would continue to use throughout his life, with airplane camping trips around Washington, Idaho and Oregon. 

After returning to Washington State, in 1973, he lived in Spanaway, Washington at his father’s house and began classes at nearby Clover Park Vocational School, studying Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) mechanics. All the while, he continued pursuing his passion of flying, earning his commercial pilots license at the Fort Lewis Army Flying Club in 1974.

In February of 1976, Rick met Nancy when she moved into the same downtown Portland apartment building in which he was living.  They began dating, and on Christmas Eve 1976,  they announced their engagement after a small box containing a ring was found under the Christmas tree at a family party. They married on September 17, 1977.

Rick and Nancy soon bought their first house in Vancouver, Washington and began their lives together. The house was near Evergreen Airport, home to the  Northwest Antique Airplane Club , which Rick quickly became a member of. He enjoyed being a part of NWAAC (pronounced “N-wack”), participating in their functions or social gatherings and volunteering at their annual fly-in, assisting with aircraft parking. Even Nancy volunteered, flipping pancakes at the annual pancake breakfast that kicked off the event. 

Rick started his career with Tektronix in 1976. He worked in many locations, including Beaverton, Vancouver, Forest Grove and eventually Willsonville. In 1993 he became a maintenance technician, and specialized in machine mechanics and repairs. In 1999, Xerox bought out Tektronix’s Color Printer Division, and Rick became an official Xerox employee. As the company grew, his knowledge and expertise were valued, earning him trips to Boston, Toronto and Texas to help Xerox select which  machines to purchase and use for their production. Rick really enjoyed working at Xerox mostly because of the coworkers that became good friends.  Rick retired from Xerox in 2019. 

Of all of Rick’s accomplishments, he  was most proud of his two sons. Aaron,  born in 1981 and Rob in 1985.  Rick was a devoted father and loved to spend most of his vacations in the summer taking his sons up to the mountains, enjoying camping, fishing, hiking, and mountain biking. One of their favorite places to camp together was Takhlakh (pronounced TACK LACK) Lake at the base of Mt. Adams.

In 1993, Rick, Nancy and the boys moved to a new house in Vancouver, situated on a grass runway. Along with his two sons, Rick built a hangar in the backyard in 2001, which afforded him the opportunity to fly his airplanes with friends anytime he wanted and introduce Aaron and Rob to aviation. 

Rick loved to fly into backcountry airstrips, in particular, Johnson Creek airport in Idaho, that held a fly-in every summer for like-minded aviators. Camping, daily excursions to other nearby small mountain strips, and hiking were among the things he would do on these trips.  One year the stars aligned and he, along with his son Aaron,  flew into Johnson Creek, where they met up with his son Rob, and his wife Stacey.  They had a fantastic time together.  

Rick also loved to go on trips to Orcas Island and the Alvord Desert. He kept an electric bike in the plane so he could ride places after the plane was tied down. Most of these trips were with great friends: Harley, Jackie and Pat. 

Throughout, his 50 years in aviation he owned five different airplanes, restoring two of them on his own, and spent over 2,600 hours flying. Rick was dependable and the “go-to” guy among his flying buddies with airplane questions, helping them with research and repairs. They were his best friends, and he enjoyed their camaraderie.

Rick developed friendships with many of the pilots he met through the years. In 1980, he met Harley Youngblood. Their love of aviation brought them together, and they became close friends. In 2010, a house with a hangar became available on the airstrip, just two doors down from Rick and Nancy. The Youngbloods bought the house, and became cherished neighbors.

In fair weather, Rick went flying, often sending photos to friends and family of him relaxing in a beautiful spot. In rainy weather, he often tinkered around in the hangar to pass the time. He was rarely bored, as he always could find something to do working on planes. Other times, he would read airplane part manuals and magazines, or listen to audio books. Sometimes, a buddy would come by, and they’d find snacks, and drink a beer from the small refrigerator in the hangar, and talk about flying. 

When he passed, he was working on making an entirely new piece for the cowling on his Cessna 170; fabricating it out of sheet metal with a handmade wooden template he made, rollers, ball pein hammers and metal punches.

Rick was always close with his dogs and took them flying often.  He loved to walk with them in the morning and around sunset along the runway every day, weather permitting.  Roger, his little Jack Russell Terrier, was his constant companion. Roger loved to go flying, and If he was left home for some reason, he would have a fit and pout. When Rick was working in the hangar, Roger loved to nap on a seat in the airplane so he would be there to keep an eye on “Dad” to ensure he wouldn’t be left home. They were best buddies.

Rick spent his final week of life flying for seven consecutive days. He took his grandsons, Jackson and Adam, on flights, flew his dog Roger to Daybreak Landing Strip on the Lewis River, which he dubbed “the dog park”, and on his final day, he flew to the beach in Pacific City, Oregon for lunch. Those seven days were exceptionally clear and sunny, almost a miracle for January in our part of the country, and he took advantage of the opportunity to enjoy the weather, and made the most of his final days. 

Rick is survived by his wife Nancy, sons Aaron and Rob, daughters-in-law Stacey and Lindsey and four grandchildren - Jackson, Adam, Aubrey, and Austin. Rick is also survived by sister Joan Blanchard, and brother James “Jimmy” Farland. Rick will be remembered for his zany sense of humor, boisterous laugh, willingness to help people he knew, and love of potlucks. He will be greatly missed by his family, friends and those in the local flying community.