Richard Axling, fondly known as Dick, was born on 10/22/34 in Seattle, Washington. His parents were Glenn and Florence. He had one brother, Gary. His childhood years were filled with good times and fond memories. “Ax,”as he was sometimes called, was known for his great sense of humor, always bringing laughter wherever he went. He played basketball in high school, where he met his good friend Bill.
Richard was in the Air Force from 1954 to 1958. There he met Norm, one of his closest friends. They had many good times; always full of adventure, trouble, and fun. Richard attended the University of Washington where he became a lifetime fan of the Huskies. Even in his later years, Bill and Norm, recalled how they loved to talk with Dick about the game.
Richard married Margaret Turner in 1961. Margaret is the mother of his two children Vaughn and Diana. They lived in Kirkland later moved to Bellevue to be closer to the King County building. In 1975 he received an offer to come work with Spokane County. He worked there as a county engineer until his retirement. Those who knew him best knew that his true passion was golf, he loved the game and even after his stroke in early 1995 he determinedly figured out how to play with a limited left arm.
After his divorce from Margaret in 1981, he married Jackie Tobin a childhood friend in 1984. These were to be some of the happiest years of his life. Jackie was his greatest encouragement. Richard’s love for Jackie was obvious; he took great joy in surprising her with an unforgettable 50thbirthday party at a Victorian mansion in Spokane full of family, friends and laughter. Throughout the 25 years of their marriage, the surprises continued. Even as recently as last year, Dick had new flooring installed in their Arizona home to surprise Jackie when she arrived. He was, however, saddened by the news that Jackie’s cancer had taken a turn for the worse and she would never be able to see his labor of love. Jackie went home to be with the Lord in January of this year.
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n the months following Jackie’s passing Richard dealt with not only his own grief and the loss of his wife and lifelong friend, but also his own failing health; caused by COPD. He passed away on 10/28/11 at his home in Issaquah at the age of 77.
Richard is survived by his brother Gary Axling (Laurie), his son Vaughn Axling (Sarah), and his daughter Diana Probert (Scott), as well as his grandchildren, Micah, Emmah, Rylie, Hailey, Sarah, Peter, David, Bekah, Daniel, Jordan, Kezi, Abbi and Joshua. He is also greatly missed by his two step sons, John Klein (Traci) and Ryan Klein (Denise), and their children, Josh, Katie, Aaron, and Lori.
Richard Axling was a charming, witty, full-of-fun, very loving husband, father and friend. He will be greatly missed.
A small military service will be held at Tahoma National Cemetery on November 18th at 2:30pm, and a gathering of friends and family will take place on November 19th at 11:00 am in the Banquet room downstairs from Richard’s apartment at Providence Point 4081 224th Lane SE, Issaquah, WA 98029.