Richard B. Senk

Richard B. Senk (“Richie”) Passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family on May 9th, 2021, age 88. Loving husband of 63 years to Arlene (nee Manske). Caring and loving father to Rick (Theresa) Senk, Carrie (Randy) Schallock, Bonnie (Bernardo “Coco”) Garcia, Denise (late Steve) Urick, and Renee (Tim) Statza. Proud Grandpa to 20 grandchildren. Joshua (Lindsey) Senk; Jessica (Paul) Richlen; Jacob (Kristin) Senk; Rachel (Brandon) Pickarts; Courtney Senk, Danielle, Brandon and Megan Schallock, Gaby and Julia Garcia, Claire (Chase) Gearhart, Tyler, Kaylyn, Zachary, Paige and Brooke Statza. Melissa (John) Conner; Cynthia (Carson) Fox; Savannah (Patrick) Turrietta; Garrett (Becky) Masters. Step Grandfather to Christina, Marcia and Justin. Blessed with 22 great-grandchildren, with 3 more on the way. Noah, Genevieve, Samuel, Addison, Logan, Westin, Luka, Hadley, Declan, Marley, Luxley, Greyson, Emily, Mazie, Kamari, Ainsley, Roy, Amelia, Micah, Andrew, Hannah and Jude. Further survived by many nieces and nephews and dear friend of Donald Statza. Proceeded in death by his parents Konstanty and Eleanor Senk, brothers, Henry, Ray and Joe and sisters Helen and Sophie. Richard was a free spirit, who loved adventure and traveling the open road. One of his most treasured memories as a young man was taking a cross country trip on his 1946 Indian Motorcycle, before he joined the service. Richard was an aircraft enthusiast his entire life, growing up on a family farm adjacent to Mitchell Field Milwaukee. He enlisted in the Air Force in April 1952 and was honorably discharged April 7th, 1960. While in the service, he was an electrician for the Military Air Transport Service, where he worked on several aircraft including President Eisenhower’s VC-121 Constellation Columbine aircraft. He served in Korea with the 5th Air Force, 8th Fighter Bomber Wing, 36th Fighter Bomber Squadron (Flying Fiends) stationed at Suwon Korea. Richie took great pride working on US Air Force Aircraft including: F-80, F-86, F-82, F-89, F6, T-33, B-17, B-29, B-36, DC-6, C-99, C-119 and C-124. He was also a proud member of the Air Force Association (AFA). After the service, Richard once again hit the open road to become a professional truck driver. He drove for Advance Transportation from March 5th, 1968 until he retired on May 31, 1996. Prior to his long career at Advance he also drove for Motor Cargo and Jessup. Richard was an amazing man with a heart of gold, who loved being with his family. He was a man of many talents, a true jack of all trades, there really wasn’t much that he couldn’t do and he always kept himself busy. He had many hobbies including fishing, hunting, boating, scuba diving, archery, woodworking, reading, listening to music and crafting model airplanes. He is also a member of the Richard I. Bong scale modelers club. A heartfelt thank you to all who reached out, visited, and supported the family over the last few weeks/months. A special thank you to Arlene and Richie’s neighbors Jim and Lonna for all their kindness and support, you both have been a true blessing. Richard was an exceptional man with a hero’s legacy. He was a true light in this world who touched many lives, he will forever be deeply missed.