Lee Dowling Dickey

ARLINGTON -- Lee Dowling "L.D" Dickey, 86, passed away Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014, in Arlington, just two days short of his 87th birthday. Funeral: 11 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Wade Family Funeral Home, 4140 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington. Interment: 1 p.m. in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery, Dallas, Lane A. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in honor of L.D. to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at www.lls.org. L.D. was born Jan. 2, 1928, in Lubbock. He began college at the age of 16, attending East Texas State University from 1944-1945. He served in the U.S. Air Force in 1946. L.D. earned a BS in electrical engineering from Texas Tech University in 1951. An East Texas native, he became a resident of Arlington in 1957. He was employed from 1951-1984 at Vought Systems Division of LTV Aerospace Corp., formerly Chance Vought, in Grand Prairie, retiring as chief of systems design. L.D. served as president of the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society from 1975-1976. His biographical profiles were published in "Who's Who in the South and Southwest" 1975-1976, 1976-1977, 1978-1979 and 1980-1981. His area of research was the application of solid state switching to aircraft electrical systems. L.D. designed electrical systems for naval aircraft, including the A-7 Corsair. He was an instructor for aerospace design at Southern Methodist University in 1969 and at the Naval Air Station, Dallas, in 1970. L.D. was the editor of "IEEE Aerospace and Electrical Systems Magazine" from 1985-1987. He was a contributing author of "Power Semiconductor Applications, v.II, 1972." L.D. was a longtime member of Park Row Church of Christ where he served as a deacon. He was a board member of the Arlington Christian Youth Center. L.D. was also a Little League Baseball coach from 1961-1963. He was a committee member of the Exploring Division, Boy Scouts of America from 1975-1976. L.D. was a loving, patient, supportive husband, father, granddaddy and friend. He accepted his role as family provider with unquestionable devotion. He was an astute individual who learned much from life's experiences. He loved to fish and hunt. L.D. died with honor and dignity from a short, but intense battle with acute myeloid leukemia. L.D. was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Lena Mae "Polly" Payne Dickey, in 2012. Survivors: Sons, Jerry Dickey and wife, Jay, of Arlington and Richard Dickey of Sterling, Va.; daughter, Sharon Hunstable and husband, Steve, of Mansfield; brothers, J.R., Irvin, Charley and Stanley Dickey; grandson, Jeffrey Dickey and wife, Ashley; granddaughters, Julia Nowik, Robin Dickey and Stephanie Hunstable; and great-grandson, Dakota Nowik.