Richard MacGregor

Richard Allen MacGregor was born on July 5th, 1938, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to Thomas and Esther (Nezerka) MacGregor. Richard "Dick" grew up with one brother, William "Bill". Dick married Ellen May Bakke on November 27, 1960, in Lake Mills, Iowa. They have three children, Debra Lee, Brian David, and Michael Thomas.

Dick spent his childhood in Cedar Rapids being involved in Boy Scouts, faithfully delivering his paper route, and developing his love of photography and collecting. In 1956, he graduated as valedictorian from Cedar Rapids McKinley High School. He went on to attend Iowa State University, earning a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering in 1960. While at Iowa State, he also met the love of his life, Ellen, when he cut in to dance with her at the freshman mixer.

Upon graduating from Iowa State, Dick was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. After they married, Dick and Ellen moved to Karlsruhe, Germany, where he was stationed for two years. They spent many weekends in Europe traveling in their VW Beetle, visiting special places and collecting treasures. Upon returning to the United States, Dick went back to school and earned his master's degree in industrial engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1965. He spent the duration of his working career as an engineer at IBM.

Outside of work, Dick and Ellen shared many interests. They loved exploring the outdoors together. They loved camping and hiking and took frequent vacations to explore national parks and Civil War battle sites. Dick and Ellen also enjoyed collecting throughout their lives and planned many local excursions to hunt for antiques, old books, and Boy Scout memorabilia.

Over the course of their marriage, Dick volunteered countless hours to the Boy Scouts of America. He served as a Cub Scout leader, Scoutmaster, District Committee member, and trainer for new Scout leaders. An avid reader, he also loved mystery thrillers and historical nonfiction books of all sorts. In Dick's later years, he found joy sitting on their back deck to watch and listen to all that nature had to offer.

Richard is survived by his loving wife Ellen; children Debra (Paul) Hagstrom of Clinton, NY, Brian (Heidi) MacGregor of Byron, MN, and Mike (Melissa) MacGregor of Urbandale, IA; grandchildren Anna (Studie RedCorn) Hagstrom, Peter (Audrey) Hagstrom-Russo, Nathan (Caitlyn) Hagstrom, Kathryn (Jordan) Padgett, Thomas (Lindzy) MacGregor, Madeline (AJ Tabatabai) MacGregor, Alex MacGregor, Aidan MacGregor, and Drew MacGregor; and great-granddaughters Isla and Myra Padgett, and Parker Tabatabai. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother.

In lieu of flowers, the family would suggest donations in Richard's memory to one of the following organizations: Twin Cities PBS/TPT Donate to TPT, or the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Mayo Clinic.

A memorial service for Richard will be held at Zumbro Lutheran Church (624 3rd Ave SW, Rochester, MN 55902) on Monday, August 11, 2025, at 10:30 am. A visitation will be held on Sunday, August 10, 2025, at Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home (5421 Royal Place NW) from 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm as well as thirty minutes prior to the service at the church. Burial will take place at 3:00 pm on Monday, August 11, 2025, at Preston Veterans Cemetery (715 US-52, Preston, MN 55965) with full military rites.

Ranfranz and Vine Funeral Home is honored to be serving the MacGregor family.