Richard Moen

Richard Moen, age 52 of Buena Vista, Colorado passed into the arms of his loving Lord and Savior after a short battle with cancer on August 6, 2022. Rick was born to Karen Olson and Lyle Moen on January 21, 1970 in Washington, IA. Rick left his hometown, Decorah, IA after high school graduation with the intent to make his mark on the world and our hearts. He did just that. Rick loved life and family. When asked how he was doing, he often responded with “better than I deserve” or “I’m just living the dream”. Rick was quick to make friends with his beaming smile and laughter. His friends were quick to become family as he valued his relationships with people and loved to make people laugh, at him or with him. Above all else, Rick loved his family that he built with the love of his life, Sara Moen (nee Waguespack), of 22 years; and his son, Caleb. No matter how much time work took him away from his family, Rick always made time for Sara and Caleb, whether it was a trip to Disneyland, a school event or baseball games, he was always present and engaged. Rick so loved Sara and it was evident in the way he would speak of her and how much admiration he had for her love, strength and spirituality. Rick adored Caleb and taught him everything he knew about the outdoors, safety and serving. He would go above and beyond to give them a happy and comfortable life. Rick loved to learn. He was constantly bettering himself by taking college classes or working towards a certification in something. Those some things included becoming a certified Pyrotechnician in Kentucky and Colorado. He loved to entertain, designing and shooting firework displays for people in Kentucky, Indiana, Colorado (Red Feathers, Trinidad, Woodland Park, Rifle and of course Buena Vista) and New Mexico. His firework shows created quite the buzz and he loved to put on a ‘good’ show. Rick excelled in service to the community and in all areas of life. In the telecommunications industry, he was dedicated to providing excellent wireless service, sometimes in dangerous situations. He put his customers first at Verizon Wireless in Louisville, Kentucky, Chaffee County, Colorado and the Rocky Mountain region. Rick became a Regional Network Operations Drone Manager and was a licensed Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) drone pilot. He dropped everything when called on and provided outstanding support in the Gulf Coast area to people hit by hurricanes Laura, Delta and Ida. Rick also was a member of Chaffee County Search and Rescue-North, where he provided assistance and support on rescue missions, served as treasurer and helped develop the drone team. He also served as a drone pilot on missions. Rick became an early member of Chaffee County UAS where he had the honor of being a keynote speaker at the CCUAS Roundup in 2021. Rick loved to work with fellow CCSAR-N members and always embraced the efforts of those teams to keep people safe in the community. Rick lived life with a spirit of adventure. He was always ready to explore and create memories with those he loved. He met the health challenges of the last few months with a smile and a goal to be happy and make those around him happy, even if for a brief moment. Rick was preceded in death by his grandparents, Leo and Thelma Moen, Hazel and Axel Olson and his uncles Roger Bjergum and Larry Olson. He is survived by his wife, Sara and son, Caleb; his mother, Karen Brown, his father, Lyle Moen (Nancy), his sister, Kimberly (Stanley) Pauls. His aunt LaVonne Bjergum, Uncle Bud (Ann) Moen; his cousins, Jeanne (Bob) Mulder, Lloyd (Irene) Bjergum, Alice Bjergum, Wendy Moen, Ron (Kathy) Moen. His in-loves (not in-laws) Sylvestre (Linda Buchanan) Waguespack Jr., Scarlett Waguespack, Anastasia (Joseph) Chao, Sylvestre Waguespack III, Scott (Jade Cheah) Waguespack and Stephen (Kathleen Abbott) Waguespack and much loved nieces and nephews, extended family and friends. A joyful celebration of his life will be held at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, August 27th at Clearview Community Church in Buena Vista, Colorado. Donations in lieu of flowers may be made in his name to Darren Patterson Christian Academy or Chaffee County Search and Rescue -North. On line condolences may be sent to the family at lewisandglenn.com. Arrangements are with Lewis and Glenn Funeral Home.

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