Richard Stanley Faron

Richard (Dik) Stanley Faron

October 7, 1931 – July 30, 2024

Richard Stanley (‘Dik’) Faron, age 92, of Hayward passed away July 30, 2024.

‘Dik’ as all his friends knew him was born in Chicago and retired to the Hayward, Smith Lake area 37 years ago and has been an active member of the community ever since.

‘Dik’ was a loving father to Richard and McAllister Faron and to his two daughters-in-law Liz (Ciota) Faron and Julia (Krasniewski) Faron. Devoted brother to his sister Carol (Faron) Wulkowicz and her husband Gerald Wulkowicz. He was a memorable and much quotable grandfather to Sean Faron and Joseph Faron. He is survived by many cousins in the Chicagoland area. He was proceeded in death by his wife Helen (Lovell) Faron and his parents Stanley Faron and Anna Faron.

A native Chicagoan and a Southsider from the Roseland community. After grade school he spent two years at Quigley Preparatory Seminary with an idea that he might become a Priest but later left transferred to Mount Carmel Catholic High School in Chicago where he graduated.

As a young adult, he returned to his boyhood dream of becoming an artist and worked as a political cartoonist at the Calumet Index newspaper on the Southside. His brief experience as a political cartoonist nevertheless had a significant impact on his creative life as it influenced his style of drawing and his love for creating cartoon-like characters. ‘Dik’ was drafted and served in occupied Germany during the Korean War afterwards he attended the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art where he concentrated in studying 2D design, commercial layout, and illustration.

While at the Art Institute of Chicago ‘Dik’ met his future wife Helen and began his lifelong pursuit of making art as not just a way of making a living but of ‘living’ an art filled life. Everything he touched he seemed to transform in some fashion creatively and for anyone who knew him there always seemed to be a pen or pencil in his hand as he endlessly sketched, cartooned, and rendered on sheets of paper, backs of envelopes or the always handy fast-food napkin or paper cup. ‘Dik’ was even known for drawing on the smooth surfaces of the river stones that are so common in the Hayward area. He was never without his trustee black Sharpie.

After art school ‘Dik’ set out on a career as a commercial artist that spanned decades. He worked at Anderson Studios, Felkamp Malloy & Associates, and other studios, finally branching out on his own to become a very highly in demand freelancer for many years until retirement. Among the advertising campaigns that he worked on included such famous brands as Cap’n Crunch Cereal, Quaker Oats, Hoover Vacuum’s, Camel cigarettes, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Chevrolet, and anything you can name that was a product of Sears Roebuck & Company.

Even during his busy career as a commercial artist ‘Dik’ never drifted far from his interests in fine art. During this time, he began a deep exploration of printmaking, especially etching processes. He bought his own etching press and produced many series of prints primarily figure studies of real and imaginary subjects. ‘Dik’ employed his skilled hand as an illustrator to the art of printing making and ended up creating wonderful works.

During this time, he opened and ran a fine art gallery in Oak Park, Illinois called ‘The Glad Eye Gallery.’ This gallery featured ‘Dik’s’ artwork along with the work of various artists from the Oak Park area. The space highlighted contemporary oil, watercolor, acrylic and small sculpture artwork.

‘Dik’ worked, made art, and raised his family along with his wife Helen (also a fine art potter) in Oak Park, Illinois. Upon his retirement ‘Dik’ sought out a new adventure and in 1987 he chose to head North and move to Hayward, Wisconsin where he would begin the 3rd Act of his ‘Art Making Life’.

Settling near Smith Lake in Hayward ‘Dik’ took inspiration not only from the beauty of nature that surrounded him but also very much from the beauty of the interesting people and things that are so abundant in the Hayward area. Whether it was the giant Musky, a bird picking up a McDonald’s wrapper off the ground, an ‘oldster’ dozing quietly on the bench at CO-OP or a crowd of folks laughing at Angler’s Bar. Dik pulled all these things and more together to make artworks that reflected the humor and realness of what surrounded him.

Over the years ‘Dik’ folded these various inspirations into works using watercolor, ink, colored pencil, and paint. Some of the characters and images he created were real and taken from life and some were welded together from many memories into fanciful beings' both human and animal. He created paintings, drawings, and many kinetic 3D sculptures he called ‘Whirligigs’.

Although he never stopped drawing with traditional media his final exploration and innovation in art making came quite by accident when he purchased an old wood burning kit at a flea market in town. ‘Dik’ quickly discovered that he could bind together two things he loved. Drawing and making things in 3 dimensions. The wood burning tool allowed him to draw lines which he loved, but the result is that his drawings had real texture and depth. Once ‘Dik’ realized what he could do with this newfound tool no piece of wood was safe. Dik wood burned bowls, spoons, tree cookies, boxes, spoons, many canoe paddles and even the occasional toilet seat of which he had two commissioned works. His greatest work was the wood burning of designs across the entire length of the wooden bar at the old Four Seasons Resort on Nelson Lake. It was a JOY for Dik to discover in his 70’s and 80’s a way of making art that combined all the forms of art making that he loved.

To say that ‘Dik’ had countless friends and was well loved would be true. But then he was one of those special sorts of people who can seem to strike up a conversation with anyone. He touched the hearts of many, especially in the places in Hayward he loved the most; Art Beat of Hayward, the beach at Lake Hayward, the old Smith Lake Pavilion, Nelson Lake Landing and while shopping at Marketplace.

One final note. Sometimes we can learn the most about people from how they treat those who surround them who are at times the most vulnerable. ‘Dik’ loved dogs and cats and was a pet owner his whole life and he was especially fond of his last dog ‘Babe’ and he memorialized her in many sketches and cartoons. His heart was big, big enough to take it all in and he will be deeply missed by family, friends, and furry creatures alike.

In lieu of any memorial we encourage you to donate your time or a gift if you are able in memory of Richard ‘Dik’ Faron to the Northwoods Humane Society. Northwoods Humane Society 715-634-5934 or at https://www.northwoodshumanesociety.org/in-memorial-of.html

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Richard Stanley Faron, please visit our floral store.