Richard Harry Nyberg

Richard (Dick) Nyberg died Thursday, June 17, at United Hospital in St. Paul of multiple organ failure and cancer. A native of Crosby, Minnesota, he earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota. He worked as an engineer for Pratt and Whitney in Hartford, Connecticut, before returning to Minnesota in the early 80s to pursue his career at 3M, Imation, Hutchinson Technology, Upsher-Smith, and Nordson Micromedics.

He is best known in his St. Paul neighborhood as “the bread man.” For more than 20 years, he baked delicious sourdough baguettes almost daily, and gave them away to neighbors. He also made an excellent hard cider and was fine tuning his kombucha recipe.

A man of many interests, Dick was a joiner. He was an active member, board member and/or officer for the NorthStar BMW Club, where he was a driving instructor for advanced car control clinics, the 3M photography club and bicycle club, and the Welch Village adult ski racing league.

Dick enjoyed biking, skiing, hiking, snorkeling, birding, music, fast cars and travel. A keyboard player who performed with bands in his youth, Dick loved music, especially jazz. He was a regular at area jazz clubs. He enjoyed keeping his small fleet of older BMWs in good shape, often coaxing 300,000 miles or more out of the engines. He was an accomplished cook as well as a bread baker. After retiring, Dick revived his interest in literature, reading voraciously, especially the classics. He had a wry sense of humor, a marvelous laugh, and a huge heart.

Preceded in death by his parents, Harry and Avis Nyberg, Dick is survived by his wife, Joan, and son, Peter, St. Paul; sister, Carol Carver, White Bear Lake; brother-law, David Rehbein (Toni), Missoula, Montana; sister-in-law, Ann Rehbein (Michael Perry), Nelson, Wisconsin; nieces, Olivia Engel, Albion, Washington, and Katie Rehbein, Missoula, Montana; several aunts, and many cousins.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorials to Walker West Music Academy in St. Paul, the Audubon Society, or Second Harvest Heartland.

A celebration of Dick’s life will be held at 2PM, Friday, July 8, at Simple Traditions, 671 Snelling Ave. So., St. Paul, with visitation beginning at 1PM.

For those unable to attend in person, a link to a recording of the celebration will be posted after the service.

A slideshow for the celebration can be found, here .

Below is a Video Recording of the Service: