Ray_Knott Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 I regret to announce the passing of Dick Sweeney, Charter Member of the ROA, who lost his long fight with cancer on May 22nd. Dick had been a technical advisor for the 1963-65 models for many years and sold parts from his Alpine, CA home. Dick was always very generous with his time and knowledge of the early models. He will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J3Studio Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 RIP, Dick. Ray, thank you for making us aware. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 My sympathies to his family. A terrible loss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dales90 Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Thanks Ray. Dick was also well versed on 1961 Buicks as learned when building my Electra 225 convert. He will be missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronncece Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 RIP and my condolences to the family we all have lost a great man and information to our cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric's.64.Superwildcat Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Condolences to the Sweeney family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gungeey Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Dick was a 1st class, honorable man. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreed Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 A good man who will be missed by many . Rest In Peace my friend . KReeD ROA 14549 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glassesguy Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Very sad news. I looked forward to his informative Riviera posts. RIP and condolences to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimera Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Wow, he will be missed and he had vast arcane Riviera knowledge! Thank you for the update! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Stoneberg Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) I was on the BCA BOD with Dick for some of his time. He was a good person to serve with. He brought a good set of skills and knowledge to the board. He also helped me as I was working on my 64. He will be missed. Edited May 25, 2021 by Bill Stoneberg (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKRIV Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Thanks Ray. Every time I would visit the USA I would make sure to drop by Dick's place and spend the day talking all things Riviera. He always made time for me. At one time I stayed with Dick & Debbie when I was shipping a 65 Riv back to Australia. Dick helped me with all the parts I needed. There was not much he did not know about 1st Gen Riv's as he bought his first in 1965 and continued to own them until his last Riv which was a very nice bamboo cream 65GS. Apart from his love of Rivs, for many years he was involved in the volunteer Police Dept. giving back and protecting his community. Yes I will miss him. My condolences to Debbie and family. Tom Kunek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jframe Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 What a shame and my condolensces to his family. He had a great knowledge of these first gen Rivs, and I remember seeing his Verde Green 65 back in 2005 in Hemmings Muscle Machines, and it just spurred my desire to get a 65 Riv even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Curran Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 So sorry to hear of Dick's passing. We have lost a true friend and supporter. My condolences to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimm63 Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Shame to lose guys like Dick. He was a great resource all the way back to the ROA mail list days. Always enjoyed his posts. RIP, and condolences to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Dick really knew those 65 Rivieras.......he was the head judge on the team that judged my 65 at the Buick Club of America meet in Springfield Missouri......everybody on the team was asking him about was was correct and what was not and he knew all the answers without hesitation. He will be greatly missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Dick lived a good life at least from my perception over the past 30 years. He may no longer be here in the physical sense but his never ending generosity to willingly oblige in teaching those who came seeking information, as well as his likeable personality insures his legacy will live on through all those lives he touched. Here is an excerpt from a Hemmings article on his 65 GS back in 2005 "I was a police officer in 1965 and saw a new Riviera. I just had to have one. They were banker's cars in those days, and very expensive. But I managed somehow, and bought a Seafoam Green 1965 Riviera. I had it only a couple of years, but I've owned about 30 of them, 22 at once. I now have two 1965 GS Rivieras in totally rust-free condition," says Dick Sweeney, who lives near San Diego, California. He admits the climate there is conducive to cars lasting much longer than their East Coast counterparts. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
65VerdeGS Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Sad to hear of Dick's passing. I met Dick when he stopped in Vancouver to take an Alaska cruise a couple of years ago. We picked him and his wife up from their hotel in our '65 Gran Sport and toured him around Stanley Park then driving up Cypress Mountain for a panoramic view of the city. He said our car reminded him of his Verde Green Gran Sport, except without the vinyl roof his had. Over dinner we enjoyed talking about Buicks, travel, his career as a police officer, and other things. A gracious man and one who left his mark on many, including me. Dick, may you rest in peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
71GS Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Sad to hear this. Dick was a wealth of knowledge and generous with his time. Rest In Peace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivgs Posted May 25, 2021 Share Posted May 25, 2021 Dick was a great guy, a lot of knowledge and never was shy to share it. I am glad I knew him and had many conversations on Rivs and whatnot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dship Posted May 26, 2021 Share Posted May 26, 2021 Dick always sought me out when attending either the ROA or BCA Nationals. I had lived in La Mesa, CA not far from Dick during the '50's so he would let me know of the area's changes each time we'd meet. He was a very personable guy and will be greatly missed. Condolences to his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscheib Posted June 2, 2021 Share Posted June 2, 2021 Sorry to hear this news. Bea and I worked with he and Debbie on the bus trips in Allentown. I was must grateful for there knowledge which made our work much easier. Condolences to Debbie and family. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rivieraman Posted June 15, 2021 Share Posted June 15, 2021 So sorry RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviman Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 So Sorry For His Passing, May He Rest In Peace..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 Everyone go to Dick's online obituary listed as Richard Leon Sweeney and check out the video tribute........ very well done and lots of pics of Dick and his Rivieras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Just looked & can't find it. Just spent an hour. Would LOVE to see it. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riviera63 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 6 minutes ago, telriv said: Just looked & can't find it. Just spent an hour. Would LOVE to see it. Tom T. Tom, Here is the link. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/la-mesa-ca/richard-sweeney-10207497 Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
telriv Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 Thank you Bill. Tom T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seafoam65 Posted June 25, 2021 Share Posted June 25, 2021 (edited) When watching the video, the most interesting car related pics are in the middle starting at about 17 minutes in. Note that at 20:21 in the video is a picture of the 65 Riviera Dick bought brand new. While on his police beat Dick saw a brand new 65 Riviera going down the street and was blown away by how beautiful it was. He decided then and there that he was going to buy a new one, but he had to search a bunch of Buick dealers to find one that had a sticker price that he could swing on a policeman's salary. The Seafoam Green one that he bought was not his first choice of color but it was stripped down enough that he could swing the payments. It was the first of many 65's that he would purchase over the years, many of which he did extensive frame off restorations on. His first Seafoam Green Riviera had the very rare deluxe Light Green interior with light green cloth inserts on the bucket seats, an interior that is almost never seen today. The great majority of Seafoam Green cars had the deluxe dark green vinyl interior or the black interior. In the middle of the video are some interesting pics of 65's in the middle of frame off restorations. Edited June 25, 2021 by Seafoam65 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now