6/21/94, Legs crossed, coffee mug in hand.....

Dr Fiske was a great director with Dr. Mello. He as compassionate,  great leader cared deeply for his Collections Management staff.  So much so he approved the job satisfaction survey of his staff that soon became Smithsonian Institution-wide.  Sincerely, Paul Greenhall, Collections Management (1973-2014) 

I heard the sad news today about Dick Fiske’s passing. Dick’s truly impressive scientific accomplishments are well-known around the world, some of which I was fortunate to observe first-hand during my time at the museum. Dick was equally impressive as a scientist and as a person who treated everyone he encountered, regardless of their position, with respect and good humor and had the enviable skill to see the positive even in trying situations. I fondly recall my time in the field many decades ago when Dick invited me as an assistant when he applied new monitoring techniques on volcanoes on Montserrat and Martinique in the West Indies, only one example of his lasting scientific impact. Dick was always a pleasure to see in the department as was always the case when seeing him and Pat outside of their professional lives.
--Lee Siebert

November Pat & Dick @ Ivars in Seattle WA

June Pat and Dick

December 26th Fiske Family Hike

Dick with granddaughters Elizabeth Petra AlexandrA

Dick @ Matsuyama Bunkyocho

Independence Day Pat, Dick, and Elizabeth Fiske

Pelican Pub: Dick, Kelly, & Peter

Dick and Pat at Grappa Seattle, WA

Dick @ Hog Island Oyster Co.

Sept 02 Peter Dick Father Son Birthday roadtrip

Elizabeth and Dickie Fiske

Memorial Day Pelican Pub Alexandra Elizabeth Dick Kelly Peter

Dick and Pat Fiske enjoying winter and Pat's 80th birthday in Mammoth, CA

I was Dick’s half-time research assistant in the Department of Mineral Sciences at the National Museum of Natural History from 1992-2000, and in those eight years Dick generously shared his office with me.

My duties under Dick were varied – lab work, manuscript editing, database maintenance, scuba diving in a boat slip to help with an innovative underwater pyroclastic fall experiment, and assisting with measuring the large cracks on Kilauea’s south flank, to name a few. But my favorite moments with Dick were when the coffee pot was on, the big tub o’ pretzels from Sam's Club was open, the visitors had gone, and I had him all to myself.   He would pull his chair over to my gray metal desk, sit down and start to tell me about a new project on which we were to embark. And as he sat there with his legs crossed, coffee mug in hand, looking up as he talked like he was searching his brain for more data (LOL), I could hear in his words his mind taking flight – and soaring! I could hear in his words his mind flying around data and variables and instruments and what was known, and most exciting of all, what could be. I could hear in his words his mind probing processes that take place on the vast scales of time and space and energy that make the earth sciences so fascinating. And when his mind soared, mine did too. Of course I had taken “Mind Flights” before and since, every scientist does. But fueled by Dick’s sheer enthusiasm and wonder for volcanology, I always soared higher with him. I’m sad that he’s gone. He was my funny, brilliant, supportive Volcanology Father Figure. Thanks for the ride, Dickie!

Fond memories of Dick when we were colleagues (w/ Aaron Waters) during our geol mapping of Mount Rainier Natl Park in 1958-59. And fun visits w/ Dick 'n Pat in later years.  So long, ol' Pal!