Richard "Dick" Thieling

Funeral services for Richard “Dick” Wesley Thieling, 78, of Aurora will be 11 am Friday, July 29, 2022 at the Ziemer-Moeglein-Shatava Funeral Home in Aurora with Fr. Kristoffer McKusky officiating. Friends and family may gather one hour prior to the service at the funeral home.  Interment will be in the Forest Hill Cemetery in Aurora.  Memorials are preferred in lieu of flowers.

Dick died Wednesday, July 13, 2022 at Essentia Health-Northern Pines in Aurora.

Dick was born on April 13, 1944 to Norman and Holly (Buhn) Thieling in Roseau, MN. He grew up in Aurora and graduated from the Aurora-Hoyt Lakes School, Class of 1962.  He then attended Eveleth Jr. College and then Bemidji State College where he earned a degree in Industrial Engineering in 1967.  Following college, Dick taught industrial arts at Storden High School.  Dick was united in marriage to Arlene Stork on June 20, 1970.  The couple moved to Aurora in 1975 when Dick was employed by Erie/LTV Steel Mining Company.  He retired from LTV upon the company’s closure in 2001.   He was a talented woodworker having built his home. In between the times when the mines were thriving and slowing down, he owned and operated Aurora Stamp and Trophy Store in Aurora.  Following his retirement he also opened the Midway Convenience Store in Virginia.  Dick was a member of the Aurora Lions Club.  He enjoyed auto mechanics, snowmobiling, working with computers, downhill skiing, and family ski trips to Bozeman, MT. 

Survivors include his wife of 52 years: Arlene; son, John Wesley Thieling of Olympia, WA; daughter, Teresa (Adam) Hanson of Duluth; three grandchildren: Odin Thieling and Haakon and Magnus Hanson; one sister, Nancy (David) Downey of Ft. Meyers, FL; and brother and sister-in-law: Mervin and Jo Stork of Mandan, ND; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by a nephew, Ryan Downey; and his parents.