Richard G. Serino of Custer passed away on August 31,2022 in Rapid City, SD.

He was born in New York City on June 1, 1934, the son of Jerry and Elsie Serino. He attended Iona schools in New Rochelle, NY, playing baseball and graduating from high school in 1951. He went on to Syracuse University earning a degree in Forestry in 1955.

Following college, he served in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier WASP with cold war tours in the Mediterranean and South Atlantic.

Joining the US Forest Service, he was assigned to Custer where he met and married Janet Gates, daughter of Hobart and Ann Gates, in August 1960.

They began their sixty-two-year journey together in the Black Hills at the Tepee Ranger Station near Newcastle, Wyoming. They followed this first tour with assignments in Wyoming, Colorado, and California. His peers along the way called him the "Guardia Del La Floresta" and he served as Smokey the Bear for parades. He retired from the Inyo National Forest in January 1988. In retirement, Dick sold cars, life insurance, and was a personal trainer for the YMCA and became an inspiration for his clients.

The Serino family returned to Custer in 1996, where Dick served on the Board of the TELCO Credit Union and on the City Planning Commission. He was an avid skier and sports fan.

Dick is survived by his wife Janet of Custer, SD; daughter, Mary Louise Krull (Henry) of Soldotna, Alaska, grandchildren Anton, Elan, & Alyeska also of Soldotna; daughter, Deneyse Serino of Tucson, Arizona, grandson Benjamin Churchill (Laura) and great grandson Walker of Spokane, Washington, granddaughter Tanya Churchill of Austin, Texas and granddaughter Sophie Serino of Tucson, Arizona.

Arrangements have been placed under the local direction of Chamberlain McColley's Funeral Home in Custer, SD. Written condolences can be made at www.chamberlainmccolleys.com.