Dr. Richard Alan Damon passed away peacefully on May 7, 2026, at the age of 96.
Since September 2025, he was a resident of Saint Paul, Minnesota. He moved from Bozeman, Montana, to the Twin Cities to be closer to his four children after the death of his beloved second wife, Anna Dorothy Hostetter Damon.
Richard was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Otto Earl Damon and Rebecca Jane Borin Damon, the youngest of five children. A gifted athlete, he was the starting quarterback for Thomas Jefferson High School as a freshman. During high school, he fell in love with Jacqueline Joyce Johnson, first noticing her when she walked into a student council meeting wearing a yellow dress. Richard graduated from Iowa State University, and he and Jackie were married in 1952.
Richard and Jackie moved to Memphis, Tennessee, before returning to Iowa so Richard could attend medical school at the University of Iowa. His career in family practice medicine took them to Utah, Germany (for three years of service with the US Army), Michigan, and eventually to Beaver Dam, Wisconsin in 1963.
In Beaver Dam, Richard provided skilled, compassionate care at Medical Associates and in private practice. He built close relationships with patients and families, made house calls, treated emergencies in the middle of the night, performed surgeries, and delivered more than 1,000 babies.
In 1991, Richard and Jackie relocated to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. His care extended to Jackie, whom he lovingly supported as she faced months of cancer treatment, ultimately passing away from lymphoma in 1992. In 1993, Richard married Anna Dorothy Hostetter and continued to practice medicine for another decade at Door County Memorial Hospital. After a forty-four-year career as a physician, Richard and Anna retired to Bozeman, Montana, where together they enjoyed all the area had to offer.
Richard shifted his focus from practicing medicine to advocating for equitable access to health care. As an active member of Physicians for a National Health Program and a prolific writer of letters to the editor of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle, he championed the belief that health care is a human right. Throughout his career and retirement, he worked to expand access to medical care by recruiting physicians, establishing clinics, and helping launch free and low-cost health services in the communities he served.
Richard loved downhill skiing, hiking the trails of Bozeman, visiting Yellowstone National Park, and especially, fly fishing the rivers and streams of Montana and the West.
Richard was preceded in death by his first wife, Jacqueline, his second wife, Anna, and his four siblings. He is survived by his four children, Anne (husband Roy Ginsburg), Paul (wife Susan Damon), Matthew (wife Gretchen Damon), Sara (husband Bill Dunn), and Anna’s three daughters, Victoria Hostetter, Virginia Hostetter, and Beverly Riley. He is also survived by twelve grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. I
n accordance with his wishes, no formal memorial service will be held.
Memorials may be directed to the Gallatin Valley Land Trust or Yellowstone Forever.
