Richard Arlen Gissel was born on May 20, 1934, in a small farmhouse in Dewar, Iowa, to Leslie Gissel and Vera. When Vera left early in his childhood, his stepmother, Vi, became the mom he knew and loved. Dick often sat nearby with a book while Vi fished at her favorite catfish spots along the riverbank. Summers meant spending hours weeding the watermelons she tended in her garden and selling catfish at the market. He later laughed about those chores, even though they left him with a lifelong dislike for fishing and watermelon.

Dick was brilliantly smart and persistently focused. Known by classmates as “Zeke,” he skipped the eighth grade after earning the top score in the county on the Iowa State test and graduated from East Waterloo High School in 1952. He served four years in the United States Air Force as a radio operator. While stationed in Sioux City, Iowa, a fellow airman’s .45 accidentally discharged during a card game, sending a bullet through Dick’s right leg. The injury led to a medical discharge and enabled him to attend Iowa State University on the G.I. Bill, where he proudly earned his degree in electrical engineering.

The most defining part of Dick’s life began when he was fifteen and met thirteen-year-old Pollie “Jackie” Gillette. He went home and told his mother, “I am going to marry that girl.” His pursuit of Jackie never wavered. He proposed to her four times previously, but on his fifth attempt, Jackie threw the ring to the ground. He told her, “That ring is yours, but I am gone.” She picked it back up. They were married at the Little Brown Church in the Vale on March 19, 1955, beginning a 66-year partnership marked by affection and loyalty. When remembering their life together, he recalled how he never stopped choosing Jackie. “I just loved her,” he said.

Dick is preceded in death by his wife Jackie, his father Leslie, his mother Vera, his stepmother Vi, and his sister Dorothy “Dolly.”

He is survived by his children: Richard (wife Pamela), Michael, Jerry (wife Vanessa), Scott (wife Sylvia), Sandy (husband Pat), and Timothy (wife Deanne). His family includes sixteen grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren. He had a remarkable way of making each one feel like the favorite.

Dick found joy in cheering at every game he could attend. His call of “Bingo, Bango, Bongo” became legendary throughout Gilbert. He worked for thirty years at Motorola and was respected for his intelligence and commitment to quality. After retirement, he and Jackie traveled often and enjoyed more than 20 cruises, with Alaska becoming their favorite destination.

In his final message to his family, he said, “Believe in God. Go to church. Do not fight with each other. If they ask who the favorite is, tell them, 'You are.”

Richard “Dick” Arlen Gissel reunited with the love of his life, Jackie, on November 25, 2025.

Bingo, Bango, Bongo….