Richard was born in Seattle, Washington in December 1926. As the third son of six brothers and one sister, Richard “Dick” Mark, took on problem-solving with great attitude as well – but in the actual field of rocket science, producing original solutions that advanced America's aeronautics and nuclear energy frontiers.

Dick’s educational and professional success in life was a testament to his perseverance and deep Christian faith. Chinese was his first language, and he struggled with English in primary school as he tried to sort out the two languages. At Garfield High School, he grappled with geometry. When he asked his brother Wing for help with proving theorems, Wing advised, “Prove it yourself.” Dick called Wing’s “help” a turning point, as he realized then that he needed to engage his brain to solve problems, a principle he applied to all aspects of life, especially his study of the Bible.

In another pivotal moment, Dick remembered gazing out of the classroom window during his junior year at Garfield and seeing a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. “I saw that airplane and thought, ‘I want to learn how to make those things!’”

And learn he did. Hitchhiking daily to the University of Washington (UW) campus in his ROTC uniform, sometimes with a brother in tow, he earned his BS and MS degrees in aeronautical engineering while working at UW’s Kirsten Wind Tunnel laboratory. World War II was raging, and Dick’s UW team helped the US military test rugged B-17 mockup bombers. In 1954 Dick earned his PhD in aeronautics and mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech). His dissertation, “Laminar Boundary Layers on Slender Bodies of Revolution in Axial Flow,” presented his investigations of the shapes of objects capable of travelling faster than the speed of sound. Throughout his rigorous academic pursuits, his devotion to Jesus Christ remained the bedrock of his character and focus.

Fresh out of Caltech, Dick was hired as a member of a think tank at Convair/General Dynamics, an aircraft manufacturing company. After each day’s focused work, he slept with a notepad on his bedstand, should any solutions come to mind in the middle of the night. Dick collaborated with renowned nuclear scientist Edward Teller (“Father of the Hydrogen Bomb”) and was tasked with designing the heat shields for a ballistic missile capable of carrying a hydrogen bomb and travelling a range of 5,000 miles.

Asked to work quickly, Dick designed the shield in two weeks. By his calculations the shield would protect the missile from burning up upon re-entry into the earth's atmosphere and keep it intact until it reached its target. Teller was initially dubious, but subsequent trials with a test missile and a dummy bomb at Cape Canaveral verified Dick's solution. Older brother Shelley proudly asserted, “Dick helped design the heat shield for Teller’s nuclear weapons, which were major deterrents that contributed to the ending of the Cold War. I would call Dick’s work for Teller a cosmic achievement – after all, how many people can say that their brains helped end a war!” Dick believed his God-given intellect was meant to be used for the greater good and the defense of his nation. Dick married Lillian Gee on June 20, 1954 and settled in the San Francisco Bay area in California, where he began work at Lockheed Missiles and Space Company (now Lockheed Martin) in Mountain View. There, Dick developed the UGM-27 Polaris missile, which was deployed by the US Navy in the 1960s as the first submarine-launched ballistic missile. He was invited to report on his scientific research at the 1962 Third International Rarefied Gas Dynamics Symposium in Paris, France.

In 1969, Dick helped his wife Lillian establish Alpha Beacon Christian School in San Mateo, California, and, not surprisingly, taught math and physics. This endeavor was a true reflection of his primary passion: sharing the love of Jesus and supporting Christian education. While he worked on another original aeronautics theory during his spare time, his work at the school enabled him to live a more balanced life and use his talents in support of Christian education. It was also important to him to raise his children as he had been raised, striving to live a life honoring God and serving Him faithfully. He taught the children tennis and kept physically active as well. He exercised and swam regularly into his late 90s.

Dick and Lillian’s legacy includes five children and nine grandchildren: Dean, Kim, Faye [husband Chris Chu; children Bethany (Timothy Chan), Hannah, Sarah (Thomas Lum), and Jordan], Glenn (wife Mary; children Alisha and Kayla) and Lynne (husband Tim Wong; children Rachel (Brian Malen), Micah, and Caleb).

Whether it was advancing the nation’s aerospace defense capabilities or encouraging young people through science, spirituality, and sports, Dick’s life achievements form an inspiring example of a deep-thinking, dedicated man who loved and served the Lord Jesus Christ, his nation, and his loved ones.

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