Richard Dick Oechsle, age 57, of rural Colman, died Tuesday, May 10, 2005, at the Royal C. Johnson VA Medical Center at Sioux Falls. His funeral service will be at 10:00 AM Saturday, May 14, at the Hitchcock United Methodist Church with Pastor Jan Price officiating. Burial will be at Altoona Cemetery, rural Hitchcock, with Military Rites by the Raymond-Hart American Legion Post #84 of Hitchcock. Friends may call this Friday afternoon and evening at the Welter Funeral Home or prior to the service at the church Saturday morning. Richard Lee Oechsle was born on December 29, 1947, to LeRoy and Hazel (Payne) Oechsle at Aberdeen, SD. He lived his childhood in the Hitchcock area and graduated from Hitchcock High School in 1966. He attended South Dakota State University in Brookings and graduated in December 1972 majoring in guidance counseling. While in college he was enrolled in advanced ROTC. In June 1969, while driving to Fort Riley, Kansas for his summer training, Dick was in a car accident and lost his sight. He adjusted to his blindness while living on his own most recently living at Colman, SD. Dick enjoyed going to football games of the Colman/Egan C-Hawks and listening to the SDSU mens and womens basketball games. His hobbies were working with leather and making things out of wood. He is survived by his cat Yabut; two brothers, Dale (Margaret) Oechsle of Hitchcock and Don (Sharon) Oechsle of Fairmont, MN; six sisters, LaVonne (Allen) Pownell of Hitchcock, Margie Lips of Hitchcock, Gladys (Virgil) Swope of Redfield, Mona (Jerome) Kleinsasser of Hitchcock, Verna Rodman of Huron and Sharolyn (Don) Johnson of Cache, OK; one brother-in-law, Veryl (Kay) Eschen of Hillrose, CO; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Galen and Junior, one sister, Doris Eschen and two brothers-in-law, Blair Rodman and Max Lips.