Lester Richard “Dick” Greenwood, 92, who founded Greenwood, Ohlund & Co., an accounting firm in Ballard, died Dec. 12, in Puyallup. He was known for his cheerful demeanor, inquisitive mind, deep faith, unfailing integrity and genuine interest in others.

 

Born Aug. 21, 1933, in Spokane, he was the only child of Lester and Mabel (Skone) Greenwood. He graduated in 1951 from North Central High School, where he played clarinet in the marching band and competed on the debate team. During his junior year, he won the Spokane city chess tournament. As a senior, he won the state high school debating championship and was awarded a college scholarship as the outstanding male debater.

 

In 1955, Dick graduated from Washington State College (now WSU) with an honors degree in business administration with a major in accounting. He participated on the debate team during his years there, and he and his partner earned ninth at the national competition, setting a university record. He also served as president of the Lutheran Students’ Association, and of the Young Republicans.

 

After a year of working at Touche, Niven, Bailey & Smart in Seattle, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. Following basic training, he was transferred to Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indianapolis, Ind., for training in the Army finance school. He served in the Army Finance Corps for two years in the 10th Infantry Division in Wurzburg, Germany.

 

Shortly after returning from Germany, he married Carol Anne Moore, whom he had met at the Lutheran Students’ Association. The ceremony was June 29, 1958, at Mt. Si Lutheran Church in North Bend.

 

After working at Touche for four more years, he was hired as CFO of Alaska Distributors Co. Then, in September 1968, he started working as an independent CPA in Ballard.

 

In 1971, his accounting practice and two others united to create Greenwood, Ohlund & Co. When he retired in 2001, the staff of 23 comprised the largest accounting firm in Ballard.

 

In 1990, Dick became involved in the formation of Viking Bank in Ballard, serving on the board throughout the bank’s history, until it was sold in 2011. An active member of the Ballard Rotary Club for more than 30 years, in 1994 Dick was recognized as the Ballard Businessman of the Year.

 

Dick and Carol raised a family of four children in Shoreline, living in the same house across from Sunset Elementary for 49 years.

 

Beginning in 1958, they were members of Luther Memorial Church, joining University Presbyterian Church in 2001. In both congregations, he served on various boards and committees and at UPC, he and Carol enjoyed mentoring engaged couples.

 

They also enjoyed world travel and looked forward each July to vacationing on Orcas Island with their entire family. 

 

An avid reader with a remarkable memory, Dick was especially fascinated with current events, biblical archeology, the Civil War and World War II. Beginning as a 13-year-old, he developed a deep fascination with obscure political parties. In 2018, he donated the “Lester R. Greenwood Third Parties Political Periodicals” collection to WSU; it is housed at Terrell Library in Pullman.

 

As much as he enjoyed his career, church and intellectual pursuits, Dick would often say his most fulfilling role was as a husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

 

On April 5, 2017, Carol, his best friend and wife of 58 years, died.

 

From 2019 to 2024, Dick richly enjoyed creating new friendships and community at Crista’s Cristwood community in Shoreline.

 

Dick is survived by four children, Anne (Alan) Cline of Marysville, Gail (Dan) Ayres of Montesano, Paul (Ginny) Greenwood of Puyallup and Jane (Shane) Hansen of Gig Harbor, as well as 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren.

 

A private interment will be at the Fall City Cemetery. A memorial service is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 18, in the activity center at Cristwood, 350 N. 190th St., Shoreline. Memorial donations may be made to World Vision, P.O. Box 9716, Federal Way, 98063.