Richard Milo Blomquist passed away of natural causes on March 15th at 9:45 pm in Richland, Washington. He died peacefully, surrounded by his two surviving daughters, Cheryle Armstrong, Susan Shipman, and Susan’s husband, Ron Shipman.

Richard was born on March 1st, 1917, in Gowrie, Iowa, to Alfred and Hannah Blomquist. He graduated from Harcourt High School and, in the Spring of 1941, joined the Army Air Corps. Richard was married to the late Shirley Blomquist, who died September 11th, 2012, 4 days prior to their 68th wedding anniversary. 

Richard was very active in his church community at Bethel Lutheran Church in Templeton, California. He retired from sales and instruction with Sun Electric Corp but continued to teach, instruct, and support others in several other positions beyond his initial retirement.

Richard was known for his ability to listen to others, and he always responded with respect for the person with whom he interacted. He complimented those skills with a wonderful sense of humor that he carried with him throughout his life. 

Richard completed writing his book “The Flaming Arrow” at 103 years of age and was able to see his book in print the week before he died. The inspiration to write his book was initiated by his flight crew of World War II. Members of the crew had written about their experiences through their 50 missions together, which he included in his book that they asked their friend/and Bomber pilot in WWII colleague to write many years ago. Through the years of conversations and reading about other Veterans’ experiences, Dick (Richard) realized he could not tell a story that glorified war but needed to tell a story that focused on peace. His journey through his life taught him that “Love is All,” “Love is Everything,” and if we could all carry that message and live with this philosophy, the world would be a different place. His greatest desire was to see world peace in his lifetime, and this fed his passion as a peace activist.

Richard’s Celebration of Life will be held in July (date TBD) at Bethel Lutheran Church in Templeton, California. He will be missed by his family, friends, and all those who were lucky enough to meet him. He requested that his family continue his legacy for World Peace by donating all proceeds from his book to the Peace Literacy Foundation and to promote peace in their own lives. 

Memorial gifts can be made to the following organizations in his honor:

21st Century Peace Literacy Foundation 

PO Box 4024

Tubac, Arizona  85646

Bethel Lutheran Church 

295 Old County Road

Templeton, California 93465