Dickie Pond Passes

[Mark40H]

Just checked my answering machine at home since I am in Alabama for the winter. Had a message from Dickie's wife, Kay, that DIckie passed away on Monday, the 29th.

For those of you who didn't know Dickie, he was one of the best kneel-down drivers in the 50s and 60s. Dickie drove the K-4 Ring of Fire for Marshall Grant of the Johnnie Cash Band. You can read more about Dickie on the Who's Who of Boat Racing page.

Dick's funeral will be Friday, Feb 2, at 10:30 at DeJong Funeral Home in Keokuk IA.

Please keep Dick's family in your prayers.

[ClayT]

R.I.P. my friend.

[Master Oil Racing Team]

Dick Pond was a legend when I started racing. He was one of the ones I first read about in Roostertail along with Dick O'Dea, Rich Fuschlin, Richard Austin, the Seebolds, and Johnny Dortch and Ralph Donald. I was just a kid then, and could never walk up to such a racer to talk. So it was very good to talk to him at the DePue reunion in 2007. He had no idea who I was, but that didn't matter....I knew who he was and finally got to talk to him, and shake his hand. Thanks Karen Cadle for getting him there.

[Karen Cadle]

So glad he came. I'd called early last summer and spoke to his wife Kay about the 2017 dates and so hoped he could come. I think Arti told me they had the street torn up and he had trouble getting out of the neighborhood. I spoke with Kay for quite a while late yesterday. Plan to go see her this summer, and maybe get her to DePue with some of his scrap books and original photos she has. I'm so thankful for the years he raced with my Grandpa and Bill and that we stayed in touch. Such a soft spoken man.