Richard J. Beland ’59

Richard J. Beland ’59, of Poquoson, Va.; May 10, from Parkinson’s disease. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 30 years, retiring in 1989. He spent years training students to fly, briefly interrupted by a tour in Vietnam, where he flew 290 combat missions. For four years following, he served as an advance agent for support and security for Air Force One, serving under Presidents Carter and Reagan. He then did a four-year tour to Germany. He was a member of the NATO Flight Safety Group. In retirement he served as a lector and usher at Langley Chapel, was a member of the Peninsula Pathfinder Volksmarch Club, and was chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals in Poquoson for 18 years. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, Sonya, who survives him. Other survivors include two sons, a daughter-in-law, a grandson, a sister and brother-in-law, a niece, a nephew, and an uncle.