Paul Richard Fields

Paul Richard Fields, 83 of Clarkdale , Arizona died October 25, 2012. Born April 29, 1929 in Columbus , Ohio he was the son of the late C.K. Fields and Lois Fields. Following his graduation from Pataskala High School Class of 1947, Rick graduated from Ohio State University , Class of 1951. He then joined the U.S. Navy and flew 600 hours outside of the continental limits at Norfolk , VA. He was honorably discharged with the Good Conduct Medal. In 1953 Richard became a flight line mechanic on the F-86 USAF fighter plane. He then transferred to Engineering Flight Test as a service engineer on the FJ 4 Fury jets and the A3J Vigilante bomber for both the Navy and the Air Force at the Patuzent River Naval Testing Center in Lexington Park , MD. During this period Richard was under the leadership of Chief Test Pilot James Pearce and manager Johnny Stombough. In 1965 Richard transferred to the KSC "Apollo" program. He, with the help of God, assisted in making history for ten years via the first man on the moon and the first golf ball driven on the moon among many well known projects. In 1975 Richard transferred to the California operation with Hank Kuzinski as the Shuttle Program Manager. He was assigned to activate Edwards Air Force Base for the "RLT" approach and landing test of the shuttle program using the MATE-DEMATE devise. Next Richard transferred to the BIB program with Doug Osborn as manager of the delivery flight line as A/C engineer. During this period Richard was also the president of "The National Management Association" in California for two years. Due to health issues such as kidney problems, strokes, heart attacks and the loss of sight in his right eye Richard retired to Clarkdale, AZ. Richard was a very active member of the Mingus Mountain Shriners Club. During this period Richard referred 7 children from the Verde Valley to the Shriners Hospital in Phoenix , AZ where they were treated and became healthy children again. Richard so loved these needy children so much he organized train rides at Christmas time. This project was known as "The Polar Express." The train took selected children from the Verde Valley \u0027s eight elementary schools. As a fundraiser for the hospital Richard organized and sold Vidalia Onions annually. Richard and his beloved dog Woofy were frequent participants in the local annual parade in the Verde Valley . Surviving Richard are daughters Cheryl (David) Stienky of Baltimore , Ohio and Kelly J. (Steve) Narter of Cocoa, FL; ex-wife Dorothy Dean Fields of Daytona Beach , FL ; grandson Mathew Paul Stienky of Baltimore , Ohio and significant other Dee Fronko. A memorial service will be held on Monday, October 29, 2012 at 10:30am with a reception to follow at Westcott Funeral Home in Cottonwood . In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated. They may be made to the Shriners Children Hospital , 800-241-GIFT. An online guestbook is available to sign at www.westcottfuneralhome.com