Rick Fesler

Richard V. Fesler, March 13, 1935 to November 19, 2021. 

Rick had a distinguished career as a Commander in the U.S. Navy serving 24 years active and reserves before beginning his post-military in banking. He was also an avid biker before bicycling became so popular and was even known as the "Biking Banker." Having a love for traveling, Rick decided to leave banking and enter the travel business, eventually starting his own agency. Edna (Eddi) met Rick Fesler when they were working in the same office building. Eddi, an artist working in advertising, remembers walking into Rick’s office and seeing a huge map of the world above his desk. Little did she know they'd end up traveling the world together. His business was in incentive sport travel packages which took Eddi and Rick around the world and enabled his love of the Olympics, Masters Golf Tournament, Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500.

Over time, Eddi began to notice troubling changes in Rick's behavior, both physically and mentally. She was proactive about figuring out what was wrong and after months of testing, he was eventually diagnosed with a form of dementia that affects the frontal lobe of the brain, compromising reasoning, judgment, and mobility. Around 2015, their youngest daughter Tyra and son-in-law Peter suggested they move to Eagle to be near family as support needs to be increased. So, after being long-time residents of Edina, Minnesota, Rick and Eddi moved to Eagle in 2016. The bonus in this move was the opportunity to be a part of their grandson's life.  

In Eagle, Eddi was introduced to Caregiver Connections and started bringing Rick to The Senior Spot Adult Day Program where he quickly became a beloved member of the group. His intelligence and sense of humor always showed through and he always had a smile.

Eddi says there was a remarkable difference in Rick once he started attending The Senior Spot. He began to read again, became more animated and had a renewed interest in life. Caregiver Connections also matched Rick with an Activity Buddy, Karla Kerekes, who got him to play scrabble, took him to the library and engaged him in stimulating discussions over tea at Yetti’s. During COVID, Rick is continuing with The Senior Spot virtually and Eddi says she just loves hearing him enjoying himself with the virtual group.

Richard V. Fesler passed away peacefully on November 19, 2021 in the company of his beloved wife Eddi, of 48 years. He is also survived by daughters Tyra (husband Peter Rudrud), Maria Fesler and grandchildren Mason, Brock, Ari, Abby and Austin. Anyone who knew Rick will remember his trademark farewell, “KEEP SMILING.”