Richard "Dick" Thomas Cloward

Richard Thomas Cloward, known as “Dick” to his friends, was a loyal husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He died at home on his 80th birthday. Born in Payson, UT to Beryldean and June Thomas Cloward on July 3, 1940, he was the oldest of four children; three boys and one girl. He learned to work on his dad’s farm which produced thousands of eggs daily and Richard would help gather them. His childhood was spent playing on Salem pond. Then as a young teen, he moved to Spanish Fork. He weeded beet farms and worked at JCPenney.

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Richard married his sweetheart, Sharon Foote, in 1963. They were blessed with five boys. His work-ethic was of paramount importance to him and he taught his boys (and their neighbor friends) by example to take pride in their work. He loved a good project and regularly showed up at his boys’ homes to help them. He enjoyed it and it showed.

Richard attended the University of Utah for four years, studying engineering, specializing in industrial engineering. He served in the Army from 1958 to 1961 on the missile base in Thule Greenland. This training provided the knowledge he needed for his career at what was then Hercules Aerospace, working there from 1962 - 1994. He left Hercules after 32 years and began a consulting career as an energy expert and he served on the Governor’s Board of Energy. He believed in conserving energy and taught it (at home that meant turn-off the lights even if you were in the room). After retiring, he went to work for his son at Cottonwood Landscapes for 20 years.

He loved to camp, hunt, and fish with his family and friends. Richard breathed, slept, and ate hunting and fishing. He, along with another sportsman, formed the Utah Wildlife Leadership Coalition. He traveled the state recruiting sportsmen to the cause of improving wildlife habitats and policies in Utah. He lobbied Congress to create change and persuaded Hercules to donate rocket casings for wildlife watering holes. The organization continued to grow and is now called Sportsmen for Fish and Wildlife with a large membership across multiple states. He built two airboats and was a member of the Utah Airboat Association (he still owes many airboat rides to those who grew up in the neighborhood). He hunted all over the world and especially loved to hunt in Africa and Canada.

He is remembered for church service in the role of Webelos leader for more than a decade and Elder’s Quorum President. He loved to serve and loved taking care of the widows in his neighborhood. Many boys from his Webelos Den remember to this day the knots he taught, the science they learned, and doing push-ups and sit-ups in the backyard.

Dad loved to have fun. He could start and finish the best water-fights ever known, in the neighborhood, camping, and and even inside the house and from the rooftop! He loved to tease and taught his sons the art. To the chagrin of Mom, many family home evenings and family prayers ended in wrestling matches.

Richard was a beloved Grandpa. He loved to tease and play with the grandkids and share his bowl of popcorn with them sitting on his lap.