Richard R. Pooley was born in Haverford, PA to Richard Williamson Pooley and Margaret B. (McIntire) Pooley. He had one older brother, Bob who died in the 1960's. Dick's grandfather founded the Pooley Furniture Company in Philadelphia. The family moved to Victoria, BC, in 1928. In 1937, after the death of Dick's father and grandmother, Dick moved to Hood River, Oregon to live with his uncle, E.R."Ted" Pooley, an emerging Hood River fruit grower who owned Pooley Orchards. Dick returned to Victoria in 1938-1939 to finish his preparatory schooling at Brentwood College. In 1939, he went back to Hood River where he became interested in radio. He received his first amateur radio license that year, operating as W7HUY. During his time at Hood River he also became interested in mountaineering.
His first climb of Mt. Hood was July 17, 1939 on the Cooper Spur route with a climb organized by the American Legion. Dick moved to Los Angeles later that year and attended National Radio School for 18 months, followed by employment there with RCA Communications. He returned to Hood River in 1940 to work for KODL in The Dalles, OR. There, he met Paul Walden, chief engineer at KODL, and they became lifelong friends. Dick remained in Hood River, working for KODL, except for a short time in Pendleton, OR where he and Paul helped to build radio station KWRC.
He joined the Navy, in May 1942. After his basic training, he completed further Navy radio technician training in Oklahoma and Texas, (1942-43). Afterward, he was stationed at Moffett Field, in CA, before shipping to the Fiji Islands, and eventually to Espiritu Santo Island, in the South Pacific. There, he repaired radios for the four air bases of each branch of the armed forces. In 1944, he was transferred to Naval Air Station Pasco, in WA. It was at Pasco that he met his future wife Dorris Clifford, a Navy air traffic controller. He was discharged from the Navy in December 1945 and married in June 1946. He served in the US Navy Reserve until 1951.
Following his service in WWII he attended Oregon State College, graduating in 1949, with a degree in Electrical Engineering. His first job was building the radio station KBKW in Aberdeen, WA. In 1952 he moved the family, (now two children) to Portland, OR, to work for KPOJ radio. Tektronix hired him in 1955, where he spent the remainder of his professional career, retiring in 1986. Dick scaled all of the Northwest’s major peaks and many lesser peaks on hundreds of climbs over 50 years of active climbing.
He joined the Hood River Crag Rats in 1946 and was a life member. In 1953, he joined the Mazamas and served in many capacities including work on the executive council, as vice president, on the climbing committee, and as mountain rescue director. In 1955, he was instrumental in forming the Mountain Rescue and Safety Council of Oregon, (MRSCO). Between 1955 and 1961, he served two terms as its education chair, one term as vice president, four terms as President (1958, 1959, 1968, 1969), and one term as Jr. past president. In addition, he joined Wy’east Climbers in 1956, and served two terms as secretary, and one term as the president.
Then, in 1959 he was a charter signer of the constitution of the newly formed Mountain Rescue Association, (MRA). He was elected to be the first president in 1959, and was reelected in 1960. Shortly after this, he became a member of the American Alpine Club. This was followed by his active participation on the Mt. Hood Ski Patrol from 1963 to 1984.
He worked diligently as the Project Engineer on the Silcox Hut restoration project on Mt. Hood, in Oregon, putting in thousands of volunteer hours between 1986 and 1990.
In 1986, he had the honor of being crowned King Winter by the Skiyente Ski Club. (Many Mt. Hood legends were also King Winter over the years.) In addition to having a family, a full time job, and being involved with so many climbing and rescue groups, he spent three years as a BSA Cub master for Pack 463, in Portland, OR; four terms as the Professional Engineers of Oregon, Columbia Chapter trustee, and one term as vice president. From 1978-1985, he was on the Oregon State Electrical Board; and served from 1991-1995 on the Oregon State Plumbing Board, both appointments by the Governor. Amateur radio operating was one of Dick’s passions in life. As W7HUY, he was active on the air from 1939-2012; and especially active on the air when his increasing years caused him to retire from mountaineering and skiing. He worked every country in the world, received numerous awards and was an ARRL life member.
Dick's life was filled with tens of thousands of hours of volunteer work. He gladly gave of himself, volunteering time and attention to others, with many lives saved along the way.
He is survived by his son William Pooley, of Aloha, OR, and his wife of 20 years, Carolyn Pooley, of Battleground, WA. There are no grandchildren. His second son, John Pooley, passed away in 2004 and his first wife, Dorris, passed in 2013. http://www.forevermissed.com/dorris-pooley
Donations in Dick's honor should go to Mountain Rescue Association or Mountain Rescue Association Honor Guard
http://www.mra.org/donate
http://www.mra.org/
http://www.mra.org/mra-honor-guard
