Richard Alan Montgomery, Ph.D., a rocket scientist who served in the Kennedy Administration, passed away on June 10 in Pacific Palisades. He was 93. Known to most as Dick, he was born in Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, on January 11, 1919, the son of Viola and John Montgomery, a physician. His father and two siblings died when he was three in a diphtheria epidemic. Dick was a bright student in high school but spent much of his time enjoying himself rather than focusing on his studies. Seeing this, Dick’s uncle (who was also the former partner of his father) challenged him to excel in school with a simple deal. If Dick could finish first in the province in the common high school exams, then he would pay for college. Dick rose to the challenge and was accepted by the University of British Columbia, where he graduated 1939 with a major in physics. He began graduate studies at Dartmouth College that fall, but returned home to serve on a Royal Canadian Navy ship on convoy duty in the North Atlantic when World War II broke out. Dick served as both the radar officer and, his favorite duty, Officer in Charge of the Rum’a ration of one ounce twice a day. Dick met the love of his life, Mary Boyd, at the University of British Columbia and they were married in Montreal in 1944. Shortly after the war ended, Dick went, without an appointment, to see Prime Minister of Canada Mackenzie King in order to get his wife an early discharge because of ‘historic family connections.’ The Prime Minister’s grandfather and Dick’s great-grandfather had started Montgomery’s rebellion in Canada in 1838. Dick’s wife was considered more valuable than he because of her code-breaking expertise and had been kept on duty until that point. In the fall of 1945, Dick entered Caltech, where he received his master’s degree in physics and his Ph.D. in electrical engineering in just over two years, a school record at the time. His advisor was Robert Millikan, the most famous American-born physicist of the 20th century. Their experiments used high-altitude balloons to detect and characterize cosmic rays. Legend has it that stray balloons from their experiments led to many early UFO reports. Dick’s first job was with General Electric, where he led a program to build the first U.S. Navy homing torpedo, which was in service for nearly 20 years. In 1953, he decided to move the family of himself, Mary and two young sons to Bellevue, Washington. The household would eventually include six boisterous young boys. In Bellevue, Dick continued as a major project manager at Boeing and had major roles in programs such as the BOMARC, a ramjet-powered cruise missile, and later the Minuteman Missile. After becoming an American citizen in 1961, Dick was asked to join the new Kennedy Administration as one of Robert McNamara’s ‘whiz kids,’ overseeing the strategic nuclear programs in the Pentagon. He received a citation for preparing President Kennedy for a summit with the British Prime Minister that led to the deployment of the Poseidon missile, the backbone of the British nuclear deterrent today. In 1964, the family returned to Bellevue and for the next decade Dick led various aerospace projects at Boeing. In 1968, he also joined the Army Scientific Advisory Board, on which he served for almost 40 years, including two as the chairman. For this service, he was awarded the Patriotic Civilian Service award by the Secretary of the Army. Taking early retirement from Boeing in 1974, Dick moved to Pacific Palisades to join the startup company R&D Associates. He grew the company over the next decade before selling to what is now known as Northrop Grumman. In 1983 he was a founder and the initial head of the Arroyo Center at Jet Propulsion Lab, affiliated with Caltech. After retiring from this pursuit, he helped his son James found Montgomery & Co. in 1986 before retiring again in 1990 and consulting for the next 15 years. In 1985, he chaired the review of the so-called ‘Star Wars’ missile defense shield that led to the conclusion that the concept was unworkable. More than 100 active and retired flag officers attended Dick’s retirement dinner in 2006, a tribute to Dick’s work for his adopted country. He was very modest about his accomplishments. Following his retirement, at age 90, he started a poetry club. In 1970, one of Dick’s sons had a chance encounter with Edward Teller, the renowned nuclear physicist and Nobel laureate. Dr. Teller spoke of Dick’s valuable contribution to strategic national defense, ending with the comment, ‘Dick was the best boss I ever had.’ Dick was also a devoted father. His six sons had 42 years of college between them, with each one attaining at least a master’s degree. Each of his sons has enjoyed happy lives with strong families and remarkable careers in energy, environmental engineering, finance, investment banking, sports equipment and medical research. Dick truly valued education, helping grow St. Thomas School in Medina, Washington, and St. Matthew’s in Pacific Palisades, where he was school board chair. He served on the board of the Caltech Alumni Association. He led many charitable causes including, notably, a campaign in Seattle to galvanized the business community to help the homeless, years before the issue was brought into the limelight. After moving to Pacific Palisades, he sponsored Sunday-night dinners for the homeless in Santa Monica for over a decade. Known for his kindness, generosity, and the twinkle in his eye while telling a story, he was loved by all. Dick loved his native Northwest, where he spent the summers with his family on Whidbey Island for over 50 years. He loved to travel with his wife Mary and visited six of the seven continents. He was a 38-year member of St. Matthew’s Parish in Pacific Palisades. He is survived by his wife of 68 years; his sister, Eleanor McBain; his six sons, Boyd, George, Bruce, Mike, Robert and James and their spouses, Patricia, Heidi, Joanne, Nicole, Elaine, and Annabel; 16 grandchildren, Chris, Andrew, Will, Lauren, Elle, Erin, John, George, Colyn, Michael, Jack, Sarah, Ian, Charles, Skye and Lachlan. A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 15 at St. Matthew’s Parish. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a gift be directed to the Parish for the establishment of the Richard A. Montgomery scholarship fund.
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