Richard “Rick” Charles Urbanski was born May 6, 1951 in St. Paul, MN to Lauraine Mabel (Cairl) and Richard George Urbanski. He was the eldest of six children and attended Catholic grade school with his siblings. At this time, Rick served as an altar boy and proudly announced he was going to become a priest, but as young children often do, he changed his mind about his “grown-up” career.
During his childhood and especially his teens, Rick spent a great deal of time with Ed and Edy Newstrom. They called him their “adopted” son and he was a “brother” to Cherie, Craig, and Phyllis. He often shared vacations with them to the Rocky Mountains where his love of the west began.
Richard and Cherie Anne Newstrom were married August 24, 1974. They had three children, Richard Edwin, Wayne Charles, and Christina Edythe. They later divorced in 1990.
In 1971 Richard joined the United States Air Force. He was assigned to RAF Upper Heyford Air Force Base in England. There began his dream of becoming a law enforcement officer while serving as a member of the Security Police.
Just as importantly, this is the time he started a lifelong friendship with Wayne Wright. Rick was honorably discharge from the service in 1975. In 1977 Rick left Minnesota to begin his career as a peace officer in Diamondville, Wyoming.
He served Diamondville for 25 years as the Chief of Police. As a bonus his friend, Wayne, was on the Wyoming Highway Patrol in the same area. The families became great friends and continue to be to this day.
No matter where Rick was living, he remained a faithful, ardent fan of the Minnesota Vikings! He passed this fanatic loyalty on to his children. No other team or sport could compete.
Rick died on Thursday, August 30, 2018 at the age of 67. After years of ill health, he passed after suffering a stroke while living in Phoenix, AZ at the time. He is survived by his children, Richard E. of Bloomington, MN, Wayne of Phoenix, AZ, Chrissy (Cassidy) Chamberlain of Kuna, ID; grand-children, Anthony, Jordan, and Alyssa, and “grand-dogs” Daisy and Buddy; siblings, Andrew, Bill, Cindy and Pam; “adopted siblings”, Phyllis (Dick) Sederberg of Roberts, MT, Cherie (Gary) Noe of Lyman, WY, and Craig (Ellen) Newstrom of St. Francis, MN.
Rick was preceded in death by his parents; sister, Linda Rose, and his beloved “adopted” parents, Edwin and Edythe Newstrom. A memorial service will be held Wednesday, September 12, 2018 at 3 PM at the Anderson Funeral Home in Alexandria, MN with visitation starting one hour prior at the funeral home. Rick’s final wish was to have his remains interred in Alexandria at Evergreen Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the family. Skol!
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