Jon Dunbar is a copy editor at The Korea Times, as well as editor of the Foreign Community page and curator of the Korea Times Archive. If you have suggestions for possible articles, or wish to contribute articles yourself, contact jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr.
Richard Underwood passes away at age 96
Richard Underwood, left, poses with his brothers John Underwood, center, and Horace Underwood III at Panmunjeom in 1953. Korea Times Archive
By Jon Dunbar
By Peter Underwood
Richard (Dick) Underwood, grandson of pioneer missionaries Horace Grant Underwood (1859-1916) and Lilias Horton Underwood (1851-1921), son of Horace H. and Ethel Van Wagoner Underwood, passed away of heart failure in Urbana, Illinois, on June 25.
He is survived by his wife Carol Lutz Underwood, children Frederick, Marilyn, David and Elizabeth, nine grandchildren and his sister Grace Underwood Harkness.
Richard was born in Seoul on June 9, 1927, and grew up in the city attending Seoul Foreign School (SFS) where his mother was the first teacher. He graduated from Hamilton College in New York and obtained his master's from Columbia University.
Richard served in the Office of Strategic Services and the United States Army at the close of World War II and again during the 1950-53 Korean War. Along with his eldest brother Horace, he served as an interpreter during the armistice talks that ended the Korean War.
Richard was decorated with the Bronze Star (Oak Leaf Cluster). After the war, he served with the America Korea Foundation before becoming the headmaster of SFS from 1961 to 1992. After retirement from SFS, he moved to Urbana where he was active in his local church and as an adviser at the Korean Church of Champaign-Urbana.
Husband, father, educator and devout Christian, Dick was a well-loved member of the community in Korea and the United States.