James Richard "Dick" Loucks

JAMES RICHARD "DICK" LOUCKS Funeral services for James Richard "Dick" Loucks, a longtime Mancos resident, will be held at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, May 27 at St. Rita Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery. Flowers are welcome and can be sent to Ertel Funeral Home in Cortez. Ltc. James Richard "Dick" Loucks was born June 2, 1937 in Syracuse, New York to James Clinton and Esther (Conroy) Loucks. He has one sister, Jane Cary. He attended schools in Syracuse and went on to earn a degree at Syracuse University, graduating in 1960. Soon after, he married Susanne Davis and had twins Elizabeth and Melissa. Dick entered the army where he served for 20 years. He served two tours in Vietnam as a med.-evac. pilot. He loved to fly. Returning from his first tour of duty he met his son Clinton, born in his absence. Much of his later army career centered in San Antonio, Texas at the army medical service corps. After retiring from the army, he continued on in the medical field as an administrator of Saint Joseph's hospital in Florida. Dick and Susanne then built a home in the Mancos Valley. There, Dick's interest in building nursing homes flourished. With the building of the Valley Inn Nursing home, he began a long and successful career, always striving to improve the lives of the elderly. Surrounded by loved ones, Dick passed away at Lake Hills Nursing Home in Lake Havasu City, AZ on May 22, 2015. He was 77 years old. He is survived by wife, Susanne, as well as his twin daughters, Elizabeth and Melissa, and their husbands Ken and David. Also surviving are his four grandchildren, Elizabeth, Heather, Brian, and Daniel, and three great-grandchildren, Blair, Adam, and Zachary. Respected, loved, and a hero to many, he will be dearly missed.