Deceased January 16, 2017
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50th Reunion Book Entry
In Memory
Richard A. “Dick” Ikle died on Jan. 16, 2017.
Following Amherst and time spent as a naval officer in the Korean War, Dick earned a J.D. from Columbia University. As a partner at Thacher, Proffitt & Wood, he specialized in real estate law. He was instrumental in moving the firm from their offices at 40 Wall Street to the newly constructed Two World Trade Center in the 1970s. He loved watching the ships in New York Harbor from his perch on the 40th Floor.
Dick joined the Resolution Trust Corp. in 1989. When the RTC duties were assumed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in 1995, Dick moved to Washington, D.C., to embark upon the third chapter of his professional life. He continued to work at the FDIC until just after his 83rd birthday (60 years after graduating from Amherst).
His own words from the 50th reunion best describe his zest for life and learning: “Living in paradise—the greater Washington, D.C., area. Over 50 museums, most of them free. A 13-minute metro ride to my office. Less than an hour’s drive to my cabin in the woods or to my sailboat. About a two-hour drive to either the ocean or the mountains.”
Inspired by the philosophy of his Swiss uncle, Dick was a Lebenskünstler, a master of the art of living. His life was a skillfully choreographed masterpiece. He read voraciously and traveled to the end. The last years of his life were enriched by many happy adventures he shared with his longtime partner, Joyce Halverson.
Dick valued not just education but true learning and often spoke about how he would love to see his granddaughter, Olivia, attend Amherst. Olivia was admitted to the Amherst class of 2021 the day before he would have turned 87.
Lisa Ikle Gieger ’85, P’21
