Richard Bernard McGinn

Dick was born on December 23, 1939 in Spokane, WA to Richard and Catherine McGinn, the 2nd of their 5 sons. He attended Gonzaga Prep, and Gonzaga University after which his interest in English Literature and Philosophy led him towards a Masters’ Degree in Linguistics. He was in the 3rd group of Peace Corps Volunteers, serving in The Philippines where he began studying Southeast Asian Languages. This study would be the drive of his remarkable professional career, going on to receive a Fulbright Scholarship to teach in Indonesia, a Ph.D from University of Hawaii, and a Chairmanship at the Ohio University Department of Linguistics, and Southeast-Asia Studies Program.

While training future Peace Corps volunteers in 1967 he fell in love with, and eventually married, Judy Rae Brooks and they raised two children, Andrew and Colleen, in Athens.

Dick was an accomplished Linguist, a wonderful father and husband, and a champion for local democracy and public health in his retired life. Working with the Athens County Bill of Rights committee, he successfully led the charge for a ballot initiative to let the public vote on whether to continue to allow Athens County to be a dump site for toxic fracking waste. While the measure was struck down multiple times by local courts and the Ohio State Supreme Court, the latest ballot initiative is currently in deliberation.

In addition to his achievements as a Scholar, Activist, Husband and Father, Dick had an incredible variety of interests. He was an expert fisherman of Midwestern and Appalachian waters, and there was never a better spoons player in Appalachia. His interests in literature made him an avid reader across many subjects including Ohio History, modern political thought, Shakespeare, and Jung. He also won 2nd prize in the first Brewmaster competition he ever entered, and never missed a Gonzaga basketball game. He built his own canoe out of Cedar wood, he published a reader in Indonesia to preserve a disappearing language called Rejang, and he saw ‘The Good, Bad, and the Ugly’ at least 30 times. He was convinced that, “The meaning of life is the spread of happiness”.

He is survived by his wife Judy; his daughter Colleen and granddaughter Mairead; his son Andrew and wife Christine; brothers Art, Joe, John, and Jerry in Washington state and their extended families; beloved in-laws Linda Brooks and Bill Brooks and their families in Michigan.

An open gathering of friends is scheduled for 4pm Sunday, April 8th at ArtsWest, 132 State Street, Athens, Ohio 45701. All are welcome.

In lieu of gifts or flowers, please consider a donation in his name to the Appalachian Peace and Justice Network at apjn.org/about. The family would like to extend a special thank-you to OhioHealth Hospice for their kindness in their time of need. Arrangements have been entrusted to Hughes-Moquin Funeral Home where friends and family may sign the online guestbook at their website, www.hughesmoquinfuneralhome.com.