Service planned for councilman
MOSCOW – Pete Dickinson hopes people leave his brother’s memorial service feeling uplifted.
“John was a really upbeat person – almost always had a smile on his face,” he said. “I think I want people to leave with that remembrance of him and that feeling in their hearts, that they were grateful for that joy.”
John Dickinson’s memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday in the University of Idaho Administration Building Auditorium, with a reception to follow at the Best Western-University Inn.
Dickinson’s body was recovered from the Columbia River in July. He had been missing since Jan. 8, when he had stopped to help a motorist after an accident on an Interstate 84 bridge over the John Day River in Oregon. Police believe he either fell off the bridge or jumped the 3 1/2-foot concrete railing to avoid another accident.
Kenton Bird, head of the UI School of Journalism and Mass Media, will lead the memorial, which will feature music, speakers, and a photo and possibly video montage of Dickinson though the years.
Pete Dickinson, who will speak as a representative of the family, said he chose speakers who knew his brother in a variety of ways. Speakers include Andriette Pieron, who helped found Sirius Idaho Theatre with John Dickinson, and Robert Rinker, who was a computer science student at the UI when Dicksinson became a professor in 1973. Rinker later worked on the department’s faculty when Dickinson was chairman. Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney will speak about her time serving the city with Dickinson, who was elected to the City Council in 2003.
Several out-of-town members of the Dickinson family will attend the memorial. Pete Dickinson said they look forward to paying public tribute
The memorial will be fulfilling in some ways, but preparing for it has been challenging emotionally, he said.
“At the end of the day, you sit back and you think, ‘Wow, is this really happening? Am I really organizing a memorial service for my brother?’ ” he said.
There also will be several long-term memorials for Dickinson around town. Bill Junk, a UI computer science professor, led a project to establish the John Dickinson Memorial Scholarship Fund. The UI will plant a memorial tree for Dickinson later at a private ceremony.
City leaders hope to dedicate something to Dickinson as well. Pete Dickinson said Chaney has spoken with him about dedicating a bridge, bench or pedestrian path.
“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said. “I appreciate that people are thinking so highly of John to propose such a thing.”
City Councilman Aaron Ament said he would like to dedicate the Joseph Street Bridge or a bench at the Third Street Pedestrian Bridge park to Dickinson when the projects are finished.
“Whenever John talked about the slowness of government, the example he used was the Joseph Street Bridge,” Ament said. “Here we are all these years later, and I believe the final study has been completed.”
Pete Dickinson said those who wish to share their personal memories of his brother will have an opportunity to talk or submit them in writing at the reception. The family has received many stories of Dickinson since his disappearance.
“The outpouring of sympathy has just been wonderful from the community,” he said.