Richard Jack Sabo

Richard Jack Sabo passed away at St. Thomas More Hospital November 15, 2025 as the result of a stroke suffered on November 12, 2025. He was 90 years old.

Dick was born in Anaconda, Montana on June 5, 1935 to Jacob (Jack) Sabo and Beatrice Gregory. 

Dick attended Beaver Dam Elementary School in Opportunity, Montana and Anaconda High School where he was active in all sports especially baseball where he pitched several perfect games. He left school and entered the Air Force in 1953 where he was stationed at Fairchild Air Force base near Spokane, Washington where he was the youngest crew chief ever to work on the B-36 planes, the Peacemaker. Until he passed, he could always recite the tail numbers of the B-36 he worked on. After getting out of the Air Force he returned to Anaconda and worked in the copper smelter there. Soon realizing that wasn't the life he wanted, he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky with the 101* Airborne Division, the "Screaming Eagles", or the "Puking Buzzards" as the men called them, where he "jumped out of perfectly good airplanes for no apparent reason when they were going to land in 10 minutes anyway." In 1959 he volunteered to go to the southeast as an Advisor in a country where there was a war going on, Vietnam. There he was instrumental in bringing the first armed helicopters into the country and had to figure out how to put guns on "choppers". Dick stayed in Vietnam until December 1971 only returning to the US for a month at a time occasionally. Dick was highly decorated having been awarded the National Defense medal, 10 overseas bars, 17 Air Medals, Vietnam Campaign Medal w/60 device, sharpshooter and expert rifle badges, 2 bronze stars, one with V device for valor in combat. He drove a Harley Davidson motorcycle in Saigon and loved the Vietnamese people making many friends that he hated to leave.

Upon returning to the states he was stationed at Ft. Carson and met his next door neighbor, a soon to be divorced redhead with 2 little sons. Dick and Del were married the following November followed by his adoption of the boys. Dick finally had his family. They would have celebrated their 53 anniversary 3 days after his death but didn't quite make it.

They moved to Canon City, CO in September 1975 onto a small farm outside of town and Dick retired from the Army in 1976. He went to work for the Colorado Dept. of Corrections working mainly at CTC and retired from there in 1999. While employed by DOC Dick graduated from PCC with a degree in criminal justice and the family also purchased and operated a well established feed store, Royal Gorge Cash Feeds on 9th street in Canon City and after selling it built Elm and Ash Storage on their property.

Dick is predeceased by his parents, younger brother Tom Sabo and younger sister Sandy Carter. He is survived by his wife, Ardella (Del) Sabo, sons William Sabo, Christopher Sabo and wife, Mindy, 5 grandchildren and 8 great grandchildren as well as cousins in Montana and California.

A funeral service with full DOC and military honors will be held Friday, November 21st at 1:00 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 1435 Elm Ave. Canon City, CO. In lieu of any flowers, please donate if desired, to the Humane Society of Fremont County in Dick's name.

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