Richard, “Dick,” was born on July 5th, 1938, to Paul Z. and Marian L. (Fedde) Helfrich of Peotone, Illinois. They spent Dick’s early childhood in Chicago Heights, then moved to Peotone, where his father became the 4th generation to run the Fedde family funeral home and furniture store. Dick made lifelong friends attending Peotone High School and playing basketball there. After graduating, he studied mathematics and geology at DePauw University (Class of 1960) where he was in the Lamda Chi Alpha fraternity and met his future wife and traveling partner of 59 years, Virginia or “Ginnie” Hale of Carmi, Illinois, while on spring break vacation in Florida.     Dick and Ginnie lived in multiple locations while Dick served as an officer in U.S. Naval Intelligence, including during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Dick and Ginnie settled in the Chicago area where he attained a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Chicago, passed his CPA examination, and became an ac

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