Richard V. Bagaason &8220;Dick or Baggy,&8221; 83, of Sun City, Ariz., passed away on April 14, 2008, in his home peacefully surrounded by his family.

Dick was born on July 25, 1924, in Riceland Township to Gilbert and Lillian (Johnson) Bagaason. Dick attended school in Albert Lea until he enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps in 1942 and served in the south Pacific in WWII.

On Christmas day 1947 Dick married Louise Norton in Albert Lea. They honeymooned on their way to California as Dick went to watchmaker school in Glendale. They returned to Albert Lea and Dick worked for Braatens Jewelry store. He then took classes in gems to complete his jewelers&8217; education. In 1951 Dick and Louise welcomed their daughter Barbara &8220;Bobi.&8221;

They later moved to Waseca where Dick opened Bagaason&8217;s Jewelry store.

They returned to Albert Lea in 1964 when Dick bought Braatens Jewelry store. In 1965 Dick built their lake cabin on Reeds Lake near Waseca as a weekend get away. The couple later resided there after Dick retired in 1989.

Many wonderful family memories were created there. In 1998 Dick and Louise sold the lake home and moved to Sun City, Ariz., where Dick spent the remainder of his life.

Dick enjoyed duck hunting and pheasant hunting. He spent a lot of time fishing, water skiing, and drinking beer. Along the way he had been a member of the Elks Club, Eagles, American Legion, VFW, Masonic Lodge and Shriners, and Ducks Unlimited. Dick enjoyed golfing and won his flight in the 2007 Octogenarian Golf Tournament in Sun City.

Survivors include his wife Louise of Sun City, Ariz.; sister Geraldine Zook of California; daughter Barbara (Tom) Bothum of Albert lea; Grandchildren Becci (Randy) Anderson; Amanda (Jeremiah) Forman, Sadie (Ryan) Wuerflein all of Albert Lea, and Alison (Garrett) Kassuelke of Farmington, and their father Greg Morfitt of Albert Lea. Step grandchildren include Tanya (Sal) Gomez of Albert Lea and Traci Mata of Phoenix, Ariz.; eight great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his parents, sister Verona in infancy, sister Dorothy and her husband Ken Nelson, and brother-in-law Robert Zook.

Richard&8217;s body has been donated by his request to International Institute for the Advancement of Medicine for the placement of non-transplantable tissues for research development and education. The family prefers any memorials to go to Mayo Clinic &8220;Attn: Department of Development&8221; 13400 East Shea Blvd. Scottsdale, AZ, 85259. Please include note stating in Memory of Richard Bagaason.