It is with great sadness that we share the news that Dick Jacke, a devoted member of the UUA Board of Trustees, died suddenly and unexpectedly this past week.

Dick was an incredible lay leader and advocate for Unitarian Universalism. He was committed to the health and growth of this faith and dreamed of what could be when we embrace new ways of living our values and mission. His greatest passions within Unitarian Universalism were social justice and adult religious growth and learning.

Dick served Unitarian Universalism locally, regionally, and nationally. He held numerous committee and board positions, including Congregational President at his home congregation, East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, Washington. Regionally, he served as President of the Pacific Northwest District, Chair of the District Annual Program Fund, and as a member of the Puget Sound Unitarian Universalist Council. Nationally, Dick served eight years as a member of the Commission on Social Witness and had just completed his second year on the UUA Board of Trustees.

Dick was a wonderful member of the Board, and he will be dearly missed. He brought dedication, determination, insightfulness, and a wonderful sense of humor to our work. Dick served as an accountability partner for us by always reminding us what we had agreed to do and by making sure that we were clear about what it means to do policy-based governance with a racial/social justice lens. Dick was passionate about ensuring that congregations and UU communities were at the center of our work and that our Board strategy around linkage and accountability to our ends was clear.

We have lost a dear friend and colleague. We will remember to always have Dick in the room with us – along with Jim Key, Denny Davidoff, and other former board members and ancestors – to guide us in our work.

We offer our sincerest condolences to Linda, Dick’s wife, and we hold his family in our hearts as they grieve. We grieve with them.