It is with profound sadness and with a great sense of loss that we announce the death of Richard Earl Dyke of Naples, Maine, and Henderson, Nev. Dick was born on January 29, 1934, and died of heart failure in Henderson on March 1, 2023, at the age of 89.

Dick was larger than life and lived life to the fullest every day right to the end. He touched countless lives in his personal and business life and helped so many people with his caring generosity.

Born in Wilton, Maine, with his first job in the shoe factory, he worked hard and took advantage of every opportunity he could throughout his life to become an extremely successful entrepreneur owning a total of nearly 70 small businesses mostly in Maine. Dick cut short his education at Husson College to go into the military service and served in the 108th Counter Intelligence Corps in South Korea, then returned to Husson College to get his degree in Finance and Taxes. After several years working as a U.S. Treasury agent with the IRS, then as treasurer of Burnham and Morrill in Portland, he opened his own accounting firm Dyke Associates. Over the many years, Dick bought distressed companies and worked hard to get them healthy and profitable again. Some of the most notable companies were Bushmaster Firearms, Martin Office Products, Leavitt & Parris, Admiral’s Inn and Falmouth Beach Apartments in Antigua, Chipco International, Candles International, Naples Golf & Country Club, Maine Poly, White Pines Inn, J.R. Mains Company, New England Marble and Granite, Port of Maine Airport, Mr. D’s Restaurant in Raymond, Charlie’s on the Causeway restaurant in Naples, as well as serving on the Board of Trustees of Northern Trading Company in Madawaska for many years. Dick sold Bushmaster Firearm’s in 2006, and after the new owner closed the Windham facility in 2011 and laid off everyone, he started a new company, Windham Weaponry to put his longtime, loyal employees back to work. He also founded the Windham Indoor Shooting Range and Retail Store. He was a real estate developer with projects such as the Windham Business Park, Sebago Lake condos in Windham, Madison Condos in Rumford, East Shore Cottage Condos in Rome, Maine, and several apartment buildings and nursing homes.

Dick was very dedicated to “giving back” with his time and money, by supporting many nonprofits throughout Maine. He served on the boards of Maine Medical Center, Goodwill, Opportunity Farm, Husson College for 35 years, National Federation of Independent Businesses, and the Small Business Administration. He was also a significant supporter of the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland. He was most proud of funding and developing the Dyke Center for Family Business on the Husson University Campus. He was also a longtime member of the Wilton Lion’s Club and the Wilton Masonic Lodge.

Dick enjoyed life and over the years could be found flying in his seaplane, his helicopter, playing cribbage with his friends and family, playing his favorite slot machines at the casino, and most dear to his heart spending time at his fishing lodge at Lac Legare in Quebec, Canada. Lac Legare was where he went to recharge and to think about any important decisions he needed to make. It was a very special place where he spent time with his son Jeff, and then his grandchildren, JD and Taylor.

Dick is survived by his brother Bruce Dyke and his wife Judy of Wilton; his son Jeffrey Dyke and his partner Kaitlynn Daigle of Windham; his grandchildren, Taylor Dyke and JD Dyke and their mom Gail Dyke; his devoted life partner of 23 years, Yung Edwards; his nephews, Warren Dyke and his wife Monique and their son Ben of Turner, and Rob Gardner; his niece, Terri Haslet; his cousin, Lorraine Rackliff and her son, Rick McDougold; his previous partner of nearly 20 years, Katie Cummings, and her children, Larry Eliason and his wife Jackie and their children Erik and Connor, Cheryl Eliason, and Mark Eliason; his first wife Myrna Dyke; and his longtime friend and associate, Allen Faraday.

Dick was pre-deceased by his mother, Gladys Dyke; his father, Earl Dyke and his wife Agnes Dyke; and his sister, Jackie Iaconeta. Dick will be missed dearly by his family and the countless friends and employees that he considered part of his extended family.

There will be no immediate services, but there will be a Celebration of Life sometime in June. A notice will be published when the event is finalized.