Obituary of Richard Melton Lieberman

 

Richard “Dick” Melton Lieberman, 91, who passed away peacefully in his home on Hilton Head Island on July 22nd, 2023 lived an extraordinary life. He lived his almost 92 years in sacrificial service to his family, his community, his country and his Lord.

Born in Little Rock, Arkansas on November 21st, 1931, he graduated from Central High School in Little Rock and went on to the University of Arkansas with a degree Chemistry and later graduated from the Pharmacy school.

 He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force, beginning in the Air National Guard before becoming a full-time active-duty pilot and was able to retire from reserve duty in 1974 after achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. As an Air Force pilot, he had the opportunity to fly numerous aircraft including the T-6, T-33, F-84, F-86, F-101, F-100, B-57 and C-124. He also proudly worked for Eastern Airlines as a Captain and retired from Eastern in 1990 having flown every aircraft in the fleet but retired on the L-1011 as a check airman.

 He went on to own a charter business and teach at Flight Safety in Savannah where he instructed on the Gulfstream II and III. Along with his career achievements, one of his greatest joys was flying his family and friends, sharing his love for aviation in his own airplanes including a Cessna 421 and 414 and a Piper Seneca.

 Not content to master just the skies, he also was a retired licensed pharmacist. He owned his own pharmacy in Dalton, Georgia for a time in the 1970s and more recently worked the counter at Walgreens on Hilton Head Island and the Naval Hospital in Beaufort, SC.

 Dick moved to Hilton Head Island in 1981 when he married the love of his life Brenda Lieberman. Together they built a life on Hilton Head with deep ties to the community and their church, St. Luke’s Anglican Church. He served in many volunteer roles on the Island including serving on the aviation board for the Hilton Head airport and working many years as an election poll volunteer. He was a founding member of the South Carolina Yacht Club and the Sea Pines Country Club. He was a Quiet Birdman.

 Dick was preceded in death by his loving wife Brenda Lieberman and is survived by his three sons, Steve Lieberman of Savannah, David Lieberman of Reno, Nevada and Ricky Lieberman of Dallas, Oregon; his daughter Charlotte Rayburn, of Hilton Head Island, and step daughter Catherine Hogewood, of Birmingham, Alabama, as well as five wonderful grandchildren.

 Along with his favorite song, Sinatra’s “My Way” he is probably best remembered by one of his favorite poems, High Flight by John Gillespie Magee Jr.: “Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings….And, while with silent lifting mind I’ve trod the high untrespassed sanctity of space, put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

 A private family service will be held at Six Oaks in Sea Pines.