This one's for you, Dick Compton

Sitting in a recliner in his bedroom, Dick Compton picks up a card and hands it to a guest. Inside, is a handwritten note. It thanks him for his friendship, his work, his leadership, his dedication.

There are more cards like it on a nightstand. They have been arriving with increased frequency. And more phone calls, too, from longtime colleagues, admirers — people he has known in this lifetime.

“It’s pretty amazing,” his daughter Cindy Compton said, smiling. “He has a lot more friends than I ever had.”

They are writing and calling to let Dick Compton know he made a difference in their lives, in this community and in this state. They want to tell him how he influenced them, how they appreciate what he did as a Kootenai County commissioner, an Idaho senator, as a father, a husband and a friend.

Compton takes those messages to heart. He is glad to have them. They are a testament, in a way, to his life.

“I’m proud of the lives I touched and made a difference, family or nonfamily,” he says. “It makes you feel like you made a contribution. Sometimes, as you go through life, you wonder if you’re making a contribution or just taking up space.”

Dick Compton was never taking up space.

On this Thursday morning, however, Dick Compton is feeling “lousy.”

His time on Earth is running out.

“I’m in the final stages of cancer and there’s not much to brag about there,” the 87-year-old says.

But his life has been something to brag about.

A successful 32-year career with IBM. Husband of 68 years. Father of three. Elected public official at county and state levels. Visits to more than 40 countries. An outdoorsman who loves to hunt, fish and take long packing trips. A man with a heart for North Idaho.

His wife Janette said despite his achievements and impact on the Gem State, her husband is a humble man.

“He really never thought he was as good as he was,” she said as she fought back tears.

She talked about a picture of him, wearing a trench coat standing at the top of the Empire State Building, looking every bit a successful businessman, strong and confident, and the path he followed to get there. It took hard work, sacrifice, determination, and yes, he had to be good at what he did.

“I tried to tell him,” Janette said.

His daughters Debra Compton Olson and Cindy Compton, use words like integrity, commitment, creative, decisive, adventurous, and unconditional love when speaking of him. It’s clear their father has had a strong influence on them, and that they are grateful.

“Be honest,“ Debra said of lessons learned from her dad. “Say what you mean, mean what you say.

“Family and friends, family especially, are very important,” she added. “He always had the family, and my mom, foremost, and still does.”

Starting out

The son of Stuart and Zora Compton rose from humble beginnings. His family, which included two older siblings, Dick and Nona Mae, moved from Kendrick to Pierce briefly, then to Bayview in 1942 when America was in full focus on World War II.

“Farragut was being built and they were paying good wages so we moved up to Bayview,” Dick Compton said.

When they arrived, they had little money, so they lived in a chicken coop and moved up to a wood shed before Stuart Compton built the family home.

Dick Compton attended a small school, where he discovered something about himself which explains his interest in management and leadership.

He tells a story.

“This is kind of corny, but it’s true,” he says with a laugh.

His music teacher decided to put on a big Christmas program. She asked Dick, a fifth-grader, to be stage manager.

“My job was to make sure the elves showed up on time, and Santa Clauses were where they were supposed to be,” he says. “I decided at that time I liked being in charge of things.”

He was the student body president of Spirit Lake High School for the 1950-51 school year.

“No big deal, there were only 16 kids in the class,” he said. “Twelve girls and four boys.”

He attended Coeur d'Alene Junior College, then attended Gonzaga before landing a job with IBM. He started in sales and worked his way up in different management positions that took him around the world, with a final stint in Hong Kong before he retired in 1989.

“I’m proud of my career at IBM,” he said.

More important than his accomplishments, he said, was mentoring those coming up through the ranks.

“I didn’t become wealthy or anything, but the wealth and satisfaction came from seeing these young men and women move to jobs bringing more responsibilities and more opportunities.”

Family life

He was just 19 when he married 21-year-old Janette.

“But he looks older than me,” his wife said, laughing.

When they met, she recalled that she thought he was quite the storyteller.

“But I found out every story he ever told me was the exact truth,” she said.

In their early years before IBM, as they started their family, he took on different jobs — selling furniture, working in a mill and driving a cab.

Compton knew about hard work.

“He did it because he was committed,” Debra Compton Olson said. “It’s what makes him who he is.”

Dick and Janette had three children. Richard, a son, died 16 years ago of ALS, otherwise known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

He tried to teach his children well. Honesty, integrity and self reliance were the most important, and speaks with pride of them.

“You lead more by example,” Compton said.

The Comptons returned to North Idaho and bought property on Highland Drive. They added an apartment unit to their barn to provide a place for college students to live and work on the property, such as feeding the horses, in exchange for rent. And it gave Dick a chance to guide them.

Janette recalled one of those students became a veterinarian. Another an attorney. One rose to become a military officer.

“It’s all giving back and making sure people below him have opportunity,” she said.

Public office

Dick ran for Kootenai County commissioner in 1994 and won. He ran for reelection in 1996 and won again. All told, he served six years and formed a powerful county commissioner unit with Ron Rankin and Dick Panabaker.

“We did a lot of good things,” he said.

Compton advocated for lower taxes, successfully negotiated with Burlington Northern regarding safety measures for their Hauser refueling depot, and pushed for construction and consolidation of the county into one building.

“We built the new courthouse, we built the new garage,” he said.

His years in management with IBM, the skills and knowledge he learned, benefitted the county.

“He brought the troops together,” his wife said.

Compton did not seek reelection.

“After six years I thought I had paid my debt to society and did not run again,” he said.

But he wasn’t done with politics.

He next set his sights on the Idaho Senate, District 5, won twice, and served from 2002 to 2006. The Republican called his career at the Legislature a “great experience.” He chaired the Health and Welfare Committee, which he referred to as being “in the eye of the hurricane.”

Again, he walked away as the incumbent.

“I could have run again. I’m sure I would have been reelected,” he said.

Debra Compton Olson said her father was an effective leader because he paid attention to those he worked under and passed it on.

He was also a great communicator, she said, which was a must in his IBM career.

“He was able to communicate at any level anywhere breaking through language barriers or cultural differences,” Compton Olson said. “He always said he is as comfortable in a board room as he is in a bar room.”

Looking back

Today, Dick Compton reflects on those who mentored him. They did more than he realized at the time.

He speaks of growth experiences and opportunities, of being given chances to step up and lead the way.

“They could have sent a lot of other guys, but they sent me,” he said.

One of those who reached out in recent weeks was a young man Compton mentored on the Pacific Rim some three decades ago. That man went on to run a large communication company in Thailand. He thanked Compton for his influence.

Compton is pleased by that, but downplays his role.

“I enjoyed being able to play a small part in this fellow’s growth,” he said. "I feel like I made a contribution.”

His family says he did much more.

Debra said when she adopted her son, McCabe, 22 years ago, her dad went to his ballgames, encouraged him, and was there for him. It was unconditional love.

“He mentored him to be the man that he is,” she said. “And that’s the commitment. We’re committed to family.”

Cindy Compton said her father taught her to stand alone if necessary, and stand strong.

“He has always been one of those larger-than-life people, big personality, big influence, sort of powerful in a certain way,” she said.

Dick Compton worked hard and loved adventure. His passion was the outdoors.

Debra recalled that one day her dad came home from work in his suit and wingtip shoes and announced they were going on a cross-country camping trip.

“I want my kids to know who I am,” he told his wife.

They loaded up the Cadillac and off they went. Just like that.

His children were delighted.

“We got to see this other side of him,” Debra said. “He always brought us back to our roots, which was North Idaho.”

She recites something else her father told her: “The only way you can have a good friend is to be a good friend.”

To family and friends and those who know him, Dick Compton will always be a good friend.