Rear Admiral Richard I. Rybacki became Commander of the First Coast Guard District on June 17, 1988.
He was Comptroller of the Coast Guard at Headquarters in Washington from 1986. He served as Chief of Staff, First Coast Guard District in Boston from 1983 and at Headquarters from 1980, first as Chief of the Officer Personnel Division and then as Deputy Chief of the Office of Personnel.
He was Commander, Group Portland in South Portland, Maine, from 1978. Other operational assignments included tours on the Coast Guard Cutter Storis in Alaska, the cutter Taney in Alameda, Calif., and the cutter Yakutat in New Bedford, Mass.
RADM Rybacki was Associate Director for Ocean Science and Technology at the Coast Guard Research and Development Center in Groton, Conn., from 1974 to 1978. Other technical assignments included tours as Chief, Systems Engineering Division, National Data Buoy Project; Assistant Division Chief of the Office of Boating Safety’s Standards Division at Coast Guard Headquarters; Chief, Industrial Division, Coast Guard Support Center New York and technical officer in the Third Coast Guard District Naval Engineering Branch, also in New York.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn., and a Master of Science degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He also earned a masters in business administration from New York University.
RADM Rybacki was awarded the Legion of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and the Coast Guard Research and Development Center’s Commanding Officer/Technical Director Award.
He also served as a member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers, the American Boat and Yacht Council, Marine Technology Society and the U.S. Naval Institute.
A native of Lockport, N.Y., RADM Rybacki married the former Susan S. of Middleport, N.Y. They raised three children: Peter, Jennifer and Lucinda.
RADM Rybacki passed the bar at age 76, on 7 February 2011, and was survived by his wife and children.