Richard L. Dawley

Richard Lee Dawley was born to earthly life on May 20, 1935, was born-again into the family of Jesus on September 16, 2012, and entered into eternal life in the full presence of God at the age of 90 on November 2, 2025.

Richard was the firstborn son of Clarence Dawley and Thelma Lee Dawley. Richard was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Alan Dawley, his former wife and the mother of his children Pamela Balfanz, and his daughter Karen Mann. Richard is survived by his devoted son Scott (Christine) Dawley, former wife Judy Belich Dawley, sister-in-law Katy Dawley, five granddaughters, five great-grandchildren, nephews, cousins, and many friends.

Richard lived a full and interesting life. He attended Wauwatosa High School and UW Milwaukee, joined the Army and rose to the rank of Captain, earned his master’s degree, and worked as a guidance counselor for Milwaukee Public Schools for 30 years. Upon his retirement at age 55, Richard began a second career as a ethnographical researcher of the Amish people. He authored nine books based on his experiences with the Amish, and he was considered to be the foremost expert on Wisconsin Amish communities. Additionally, Richard was a private pilot, aviation educator, ham radio operator (KB9FTG), golf instructor, and world traveler. He also enjoyed scuba diving around the shipwrecks of Door County, Wisconsin. Always interested in seeking truth in spiritual things, Richard was publicly baptized in 2012 at the age of 77.

The memorial service celebrating Richard’s life will be on Saturday, November 22nd, 2025 at Lakewood Baptist Church, W274 N1490 Riverland Drive, Pewaukee, WI. Visitation at 1:00 pm and service at 2:00 pm. Due to allergies, please no flowers; instead the family requests donations to the Alzheimer’s Association or a charity of your choice.

The family would like to express their profound gratitude to the staff at Community Care, Silverado North Shore, Auberge Brookfield, and Lily Hospice for the compassionate and loving care they provided Richard in his last few years of his life.