Richard D. Santel

Richard “Dick” Donald Santel of West Chester, OH passed away on Wednesday, January 14th. Dick was born on November 26th, 1955 in Kettering, OH to parents Donald and Elisabeth “Betty” Santel. He is survived by his sisters Linda, Donna, and Kathy as well as his brother John. He also leaves behind his wife Maryann, three children Alexis, David (Nicole), Robert (Ashley), and three grandchildren Ainsley (10), Camila (3), and Zinnia (1).

After school, Dick spent several years in Salida, CO before moving back to Ohio and starting his career as a firefighter and paramedic with the Kettering Fire Department in 1981. He married Maryann in 1983. Then in 1998 he accepted the position of Captain with the West Chester Fire Department where he would eventually retire. Dick was a beloved member of the Firefighting and Paradmedic/EMT community. While living in Kettering he also taught student EMTs at Sinclair Community College. After retiring from the fire department, he spent over a decade making customers happy in the millworks department for Home Depot.

As a lover of the outdoors, Dick spent many summers vacationing with his family around the Midwest. You could find him during the summers taking his family to the sand dunes in Michigan or hiking in Gatlinburg. He was also very involved in Boy Scouts with his son David.

Another passion of Dick’s was model railroading. Together with his father and brother, they built an HO scale layout that would encompass the entire basement of their Kettering home. People from all across the country would visit the house to admire their work known as the Ohio Michigan and South Shore, and the family would host monthly sessions for Dick’s closest model railroading friends to operate the carefully crafted layout.

He was also a lover of dogs, cars, and his regular rotation of restaurants he went to every night after retiring. He was a cornerstone regular at several places around West Chester where he’ll be incredibly missed by the friends he made over the years.

But above all else, Dick was an amazing father and a completely selfless man, always putting others before himself. He gave everything of himself to help others, quite literally. Dick was a passionate donator of blood to the Community Blood Center in Dayton. Over the years, he donated 123 pints of blood, enough to save 370 lives.

Dick will be remembered for being a loving man who wore his heart on his sleeve. He will be missed by family, friends, coworkers and community.

Friends and family are invited to celebrate Dick’s life at Hodapp Funeral Home in West Chester on Friday, January 30th. Visitation hours will be from 11am-1pm followed by funeral service and a procession to where he will be laid to rest at Rose Hill Cemetery. After the service, you’ll find us at James Third Base Tavern. If you’d like to drink a Miller Light in honor of Captain Dick, please join us!

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating blood at your local blood bank if you’re willing and able.