Richard “Dick” Marchman was born August 25, 1947, to Marguerite and Fred K. Marchman. After graduating valedictorian from Gulf High School in 1965, Dick attended the home of the Gators, the University of Florida. Shortly after, he entered the United States Air Force and served from 1967-1973. The majority of his service was spent at Lowry Air Force Base in Denver as a technical instructor. Dick helped to start Astral Communications in 1977. Dick’s main contribution was developing the technical work for two-way radios and emergency phone systems in the Rocky Mountain canyons.

Dick became a member of the Allenspark Fire Protection District in August of 1989. He worked as a radio technician with Astral Communications and served as a volunteer and radio tech for the fire department. He donated hundreds of hours of time installing and maintaining the radios for the department. He trained and became a Firefighter I and II in July 1995. He served as assistant chief of the Allenspark Department for several years and then as a fire officer and EMT basic. He was totally committed to the fire department, responding to almost all calls 24/7. He became a member of the Indian Peaks Fire Department in 1999, serving as a fire officer and chief medical officer. He also spent hours fixing, maintaining, and replacing radios for this department. Dick was an amateur radio operator (KF0LA) for 50 years. He was instrumental in transferring a used ambulance from Allenspark Fire Department to Indian Peaks Fire Protection District for the sale price of $1, which was a huge addition to the service of that department. Dick was an amateur photographer (wildlife mostly), and he often documented emergency scenes for training purposes.

Dick retired from the Allenspark Fire Department in August of 2013 after 24 years of service. He continued with Indian Peaks Fire Protection District until his death on July 9, 2014. That day, he helped rescue an injured hiker in the Brainard Lake Recreation Area. He helped to land a rescue helicopter, one of his favorite things to do. On the hike back down the mountain, he looked at the beautiful Colorado mountain view and said, “I never get tired of this view.” He passed away on the mountain, surrounded by friends and firefighters in a place he loved and having just helped to rescue someone.

Dick touched the lives of so many people. He is survived by Susan Harford Marchman, his wife of 25 years; brother, Fred (Gail Love) Marchman; daughter, Nikki (Jeremy) Dean; two grandsons, Connor and Logan Dean; and nephews Brian and Brent Marchman. We miss him every day.