WEST CORNWALL — Charles Richard Dickey, 88, of West Cornwall, passed away peacefully on June 23, 2024, after a short illness. He leaves behind Janine Selendy, his loving partner of 24 years. A memorial service is being planned for a later date in Washington, DC.
Charles, known throughout his life as “Chick,” was a lover of classical music, horseback riding, and French cuisine. Possessed of a lively intelligence and sharp wit, he was an avid reader with a particular interest in World War II and early American history.
He was born in Colon, Panama, on Sept. 4, 1935, the son of then-Lieutenant Joseph Kingsley Dickey and Virginia Marlatt Dickey. As the son of an active-duty army officer of the era, he quickly moved around from Panama to Plattsburgh Barracks, New York, Tokyo, and San Francisco in the years before World War II. After that, he moved to Edina, Minnesota, Paris and finally Washington, DC, where he graduated from the St. Albans School. After completing his BA at Yale University, he served as an officer in the Marine Corps. He graduated from Columbia University Law School in 1964 with a JD and practiced as an attorney at several law firms, including Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison and Gold, Farrell and Marks and served as General Counsel of Madison Square Garden, in New York City. A longtime resident of North Salem, New York, he moved to West Cornwall, in 2021 with Janine and their two West Highland White Terriers, Bramble and Thistle.
Chick is survived by his brother, his five children, their spouses and his eight grandchildren; James Dickey and Chris Bart, Leslie and Sanjay Patel and their daughters, Alisha and India Patel, Keith and Alison Dickey and their daughter Claire Dickey, Kim Dickey and Kirk Ambrose and their children Frederick and Helen Ambrose, Scott and Ilia Dickey and their sons Charles and Alexander Dickey, and Jean and Donald Quaintance and their daughter Keala Quaintance. He is also survived by Janine and her family, Philippe and Bela Selendy and their wives and children. Chick is also survived by his former spouses, Catherine M. F. Randolph and Page Dickey Schell.
Contributions in lieu of flowers can be made to The 30 Birds Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to safeguarding the future of a group of 450 Afghans, predominantly schoolgirls, who they have evacuated from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
