Richard passed away on October 22, 2025 following open heart bypass surgery in Tucson, Arizona. Richard will be laid to rest in the Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota on July 10, 2026 at 10am. A Friend’s and Family Service will be held July 9, 2026 at 5 pm with lunch following at the Assembly of God church in Bowman, ND.

Richard was born in Dickinson, ND on December 31, 1946 to Benjamin Franklin and Myla Bernice (Jorgenson) Kalina. He lived and grew up in Bowman, ND where he attended all 12 grades of school. He wrestled his Junior and Senior years and graduated without any scholarships, grants or honors in 1964. Just an average student who had great friends and had a lot of fun!

Richard met Dianna Kaye Torpen in October 1964 at Scranton’s Homecoming dance in Gascoyne, ND. They started dating later that month and dated throughout college. They were married November 30, 1968 at Peace Lutheran church in Scranton, ND, where he fainted 3 times from locking his knees. Richard graduated from Dickinson State College in February 1969 with a BA Degree in Business and Minor in Accounting. Richard and Dianna moved to Minneapolis(Hopkins) MN where he was employed by Red Owl as an internal auditor. Michael Benjamin was born June 1969.

In April 1970, Richard was drafted in the first lottery into the US Army and was assigned to a finance unit, “paying the troops”. A year later he was shipped to “The Land of Bad Things”, Viet Nam. Instead of drinking, he took up karate during his off hours. He had an excellent instructor with long everyday practice sessions and on his 25th birthday he took his Black Belt test and achieved his goal. But the BEST thing that happened to him, was the night the base was attacked by the Viet Cong with a very real possibility of death, Richard promised the Lord that if He would keep him safe and get him back to Dianna and Michael, he would give his life to Him and serve Him. The Lord did His part and returned Richard back to the World safely in January 1972.

For the next 1 ½ years, Richard was reminded daily, of his promise, but just couldn’t bring himself to bear the cost of giving up his lifestyle. In 1973, the Lord decided to collect on Richard’s promise to Him. He noticed bumper stickers of the upcoming Billy Graham crusade coming to St. Paul. Then every time he went to lunch the guy sitting next to him would start a conversation by asking “Do you know the Lord?” or “Are you saved?” He did the only thing he knew to do and quit going to lunch. Three weeks before the Crusade, his Bible-thumping cousin, Kenton Johnson, came to town and needed a ride. In order to keep the “gospel exposure” conversation time to a minimum, Richard decided to take the back roads to cut the time by 15 minutes. Because the Drawbridge on this route went up and the gears malfunctioned, the trip ended up taking an additional 45 minutes; Richard had no choice but to listen to Kenton. Richard decided if the Lord could arrange this crazy scenario, there was no use running from Him anymore. He promised the Lord he would go to the Crusade. At the Billy Graham Crusade on July 13, 1973, Richard and Dianna went forward and made a commitment to serve the Lord as Christians.

In 1974, Richard, Dianna and Michael moved back to Bowman ND. Jeremy John was born May 1975. Richard worked at Bowman Western Lumber, until June 1975 when he was hired by Knife River Coal as a general laborer. Richard worked his way up from equipment operator to Foreman (1984) at the Gascoyne ND KRC Mine, to Superintendent (1993) at the Savage MT KRC Mine and at the Lodi CA KRC Sand and Gravel Mine. He always said it was a greatcompany, which he retired from after 29 years.

In 2000, Richard and Dianna started a new phase of life, being grandparents. In 2005, they moved to Tucson AZ to be near Reilly Dianna, Michael’s daughter; what a great adventure with lots of laughs and learning. In 2015, Scarlett Ann, Jeremy’s daughter was born and their traveling focused on trips to CA; another great adventure with more laughing and learning. Both granddaughters have brought so much joy to their lives! In 2025, Lukas Richard, Jeremy’s son was born and Richard was honored to have a grandson to share his name with. Astro, their miniature schnauzer, joined the family in 2010 and was an important part in each of their lives, especially Richard’s, Reilly’s and Scarlett’s.

Richard was a man devoted to God, who faithfully and proudly loved and served his family, friends and country. He brought a ray of sunshine and hope to everyone he met with his smile (grin), wit, songs and stories. He was a wonderful husband, was so proud of both his sons and their accomplishments, and was blessed by both his granddaughters.

Richard was part of and led several men’s and couple’s Bible studies and served on the church board. He was a worship leader, sang and played his guitar in two men’s quartets and wrote several songs for worship and celebrations, always making a “Joyful Noise”. He also wrote several short stories of his adventures with the Lord, which he called The Chronicle of the “Adventures With My Lord”. After retiring, he was a leader in Bible Study Fellowship (BSF); he was always willing to share his “Journey with the Lord”. He loved reading his Bible and read it cover to cover 83 times.

Richard is survived by his wife Dianna; his sons, Michael and Jeremy;his granddaughters, Reilly and Scarlett and his grandson, Lukas; two sisters Jeanette Kalina and Faye (Rick) Hegg. He was preceded in death by his parents, one sister, Linda, and brother-in-law, TerryBlees.

In Richard’s words, “It has been an ADVENTURE following the Lord; from answered prayers, to minor miracles, to major miracles, to saving my life 3 times, the Lord always provided faithfully!”