Richard Idler died Jan. 11 at Lake View Care Center with his daughters and wife at his side. He was 85 years old.
Born Nov. 1, 1923 in Wilmette, Ill., Idler spent his youth working as a lifeguard on the shores of Lake Michigan. He lettered in swimming at New Trier High School in Chicago and was admitted to Cornell University in the fall of 1941.
Upon the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Idler enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He was commissioned and received the Wings of Gold, flying in the Caribbean and throughout the Pacific until the end of World War II.
Idler graduated from Lake Forrest College and married his high school sweetheart, Dorothy Starr. They lived in Cincinnati where they had four children, before moving to Pittsburgh where Idler worked in sales and development for the Aluminum Company of America. The family relocated to Southern California in 1971, and Idler worked for Alcoa in Malibu.
After his first wife died in 1982, Idler remarried Nancy Denny Regan in Malibu in 1987. Shortly thereafter, he got involved in local politics and ran for City Council.
Idler is survived by his children Rick, Carolyn, Beth Ford and Susan Kolb, his seven grandchildren, his wife Nancy and her five children.
At Idler’s request, no service is planned.