Richard "Dick" Couvillion

1928 - 2015

Richard "Dick" Couvillion As loving and devoted a husband and father that ever was, Richard "Dick" Couvillion passed on September 23rd, surrounded by his family, to be reunited with the love of his life, his wife Marguerite, who passed in 2010. Born in Marksville, LA in 1928, he graduated with honors from LSU in Civil Engineering in 1951 after being nationally recognized in the Who's Who of American Universities. He enlisted in the Air Force, serving as a 1st Lt. in the aviation engineer battalion in Korea. On the GI bill he earned a second degree with honors in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in 1956. That same year he married Carole Valencia, accepted an engineer position at Chevron Oil of California, and settled in Marin County to raise three children. He fell in love with Marin and never left, even after he and Carole divorced in 1978. Dick discovered running which became a lifelong passion, and shortly thereafter, he met Marguerite Hook. The 30 years they were married were some of the happiest of his life. They shared a busy social life with treasured friends and traveled extensively, especially after 1991 when he retired from Chevron after 34 years. He ran in 28 marathons, including Boston (twice), the Dipsea (twice) and countless shorter races, often winning in his age group. But what he valued most were his close friendships with other runners. One of his closest friends was his brother-in-law Ed Valencia, sharing backpacking adventures in the Sierras and twice climbing Mt Whitney (14,497'). All his life Dick cherished his role as a father, with a deep, profound love for his children and grandchildren, and was forever a supportive and loving presence in their lives. He is loved and missed by his daughters Elyse Couvillion and Celeste Bonfiglio, her husband Rich, granddaughters Nina and Marissa, and great-granddaughter Mila, his son Marc, wife Lori, and granddaughters Madison and Kamryn. His brother Don passed in June of this year and before that his brother-in-law Ed, but he is fondly remembered by many nieces and nephews. A memorial celebration of his life will be held in Marin on Sunday October 18th for details contact ecouv@yahoo.com or 323-646-7108. In lieu of flowers donations in his name can be made to The Brain Tumor Foundation (braintumorfoundation.org) and the Marin Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org/norcal).