Ricky Lew Dill

Ricky Lew Dill was born on September 18th,1943 to Lewis and Winona Dill in Gorman, TX. His early childhood was spent in Necessity, TX outside of Breckenridge with his extended maternal family of Satterwhites and Langfords. Like scores of other rural families in the early 1950’s, however, Ricky’s family moved to the Dallas/Ft Worth area, eventually settling in Arlington.

As a teenager, Ricky put to good use the keen mechanical mind he inherited from his father. He constantly tinkered with all kinds of hot rod cars and motorcycles, “cruised the drag” and took girls on motorcycle rides. After graduation from Arlington High School in 1962, Ricky attended college classes at the former Arlington State College (now UTA), joined the Texas Army National Guard, and worked at the General Motors Assembly Plant from which he eventually retired in 1993.

Upon joining the Guard in 1964, he excelled as a helicopter mechanic and aircraft Crew Chief. His six years of service around helicopters did nothing to dissuade Ricky’s already keen interest in aviation. His love of aircraft and flying would be a theme that would dominate his interest and attention for the rest of his life.

Often described as a “Renaissance Man” by friends and family, Ricky put his brilliant mind to great use pursuing his passions and hobbies. Beyond cars, motorcycles and eventually airplanes, Ricky also was an amateur geologist/rockhound, a painter, a treasure hunter, a jewelry maker, and a man who fixed and restored cars, trucks and tractors. He was truly a man who could make, rebuild or fix absolutely anything.

Beyond these hobbies and pastimes, Ricky’s true life-long passion took a firm hold of him in the 1970’s when he earned his Private Pilot’s and airplane mechanics licenses. He and his airplane buddies spent countless hours out at the airport, turning wrenches on their own airplane, as well as all their friends’ aircraft up and down the hangar row. If they weren’t working on an airplane, or sitting in the Terminal drinking coffee and bonding over their love of flying, they were surely somewhere up in the air in their own plane or any of the numerous others of their friends. After retiring from General Motors, Ricky even took a job working for the City of Arlington at Arlington Municipal, finally getting paid for spending all his time out there! Though his obsession with aircraft and aviation would never stop, Ricky retired from his official airport duties in 2004 and instead became a full-time, stay-at-home grandfather.

After tenaciously fighting cancer, Ricky passed peacefully in his sleep at home with his family on Tuesday, December 23rd, 2025. He was a devoted husband, an amazing father, and a loving and proud “Papaw” to his grandchildren. The brilliance, kindness, integrity and heart of this great Christian man will be truly missed by so many. He is survived by his wife

Barbara of 48 years, his son Steven Dill and daughter Marla Fletcher (Chisum) and grandchildren Erin and Abigail Dill, GT Lutes (fiancée Taylor Plaisance), Nacona Dygert and Gavin Fletcher. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lewis and Winona Dill.