Richard Raymond Borowiec

Richard Raymond Borowiec Sr. departed this life on July 13, 2026, in Marietta, GA. Dick was a great guy who was loved and admired by all with whom he came into contact. Generally, he sported a handsome mustache. He was nicknamed “Stache” and there was only one person called that.

After spending his early years in Chicopee, Massachusetts, Dick attended the United States Naval Academy. He graduated with the Class of 1968 and earned his Wings of Gold as a Navy Pilot in 1969. Dick first served in a training command as an Instructor Pilot before joining VP-6 during the Vietnam War in 1971, where his assignments included flights in the Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and Asia from the Philippines, Okinawa, Thailand, and Viet Nam. It was during this period that Dick was exposed to Agent Orange while flying out of Vietnam and Utapao, Thailand, and he ultimately contracted Parkinson’s Disease.

Dick was selected to attend the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School. Upon completion of this rigorous training, Dick became project pilot for P-3 and T-44A aircraft, then project manager and pilot for qualification of T-34C for service use. He then transferred to Aeronautical Engineering Duty and served in the Pentagon as Program Manager responsible for the transition from the Navy’s P-3 aircraft to the new P-8 Poseidon.

Along the way, Dick earned graduate degrees from the University of Southern California (MS SM) and an MBA from Northeastern University.

In 1983 Dick married Patricia Paluch, a high school classmate from Chicopee, Mass. In 1988, Commander Borowiec retired from the Navy. He pursued a second career as Program Manager and Engineering Manager for four years with General Dynamics in Washington, D.C. and then Lockheed Martin in Marietta, GA.

Dick lost his wife Patricia to cancer in May 2026. They were the proud parents of two sons, Richard, Jr. and Thomas; father-in-law to Thomas’s wife, Tara; and grandparents to Tanner.

Stache will always be remembered for his sense of adventure, thirst for knowledge, and his loyalty to his shipmates and friends.

Funeral services will held on September 3, 2026 at 11am at St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Marietta, GA. He will be sorely missed.