Dick Wiebe, 77, Navy veteran

Dick Wiebe, 77, of Helena, passed away May 10 peacefully at home, surrounded by his loving family, after fighting a short battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

He was born in Hood River, Oregon to Flanny and Eileen (Warner) Wiebe and spent his childhood in Townsend/Toston, Montana. At age 17, Dick joined the Navy as a boatswain’s mate and through the years he served on SEAL teams, becoming a Master Diver and attained the rank of Master Chief, with five tours in Vietnam. As a U.S. Navy Master Diver, he worked for NASA in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator in Huntsville, Alabama at the Marshall Space Flight Center.                                                                                                          

After his Navy career, he worked at various diving jobs on the East and West Coasts. He then settled in Montana where he attended Montana State University and Montana Tech, earning his RN.