Richard James Schilling was born August 4, 1933 in Lincoln NE to Gladys Viola Renfro and Dale Delbert Schilling. He grew up in Lincoln with two sisters, Patricia, and Virginia, close family ties, relatives, and a strong pride for The University of Nebraska Football team and raising the standards of “Go Big Red”. From an early age, Dick became inventive and confident that he could develop ideas that led to business opportunities.
He showed innate creativity, imagination, an eye for detail, and skillful hands that enabled him to enjoy making projects at home and school during his childhood. Dick began tying fishing flies when he was 12 years old, and he started a business called Rainbow Valley Fly Tiers. He could tie a dozen flies in an hour and a half.
Bass bugs took longer because cork bodies required coats of lacquer. Lawler’s Sporting goods on O Street bought his flies and bugs. He accompanied his Dad on trips in Nebraska, selling his products to gas service stations.
He bought plain colored men’s ties at McGee’s Department Store and painted Mallard ducks or brightly colored pheasants and sold them. He painted collections of frosted drink glasses with the same subjects. At an early age, his parents believed that his digital dexterity and temperament would let him become a dentist.
His own dentist, Dr. Merritt Peterson, became a mentor. He attended Irving Junior High and graduated from Lincoln High School in 1951.
He enrolled as a dental student and graduated from .