I met Richard T. Feller in 1963 when he spoke at my chapter on the customs. Upon hearing Dick speak for the first time, I first grasped that Kappa Alpha Order might have a higher purpose than just a college social club. He talked about an Order based on the teachings of the customs. He spoke with such eloquence, and I was impressed that he was Clerk of the Works and building a National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. He inspired me and I worked on the improvement of the performance of the customs of our Order during my remaining years in the chapter.
Several years later after I had written a masters’ thesis on early KA, Dick Feller invited me to work on his staff at the National Cathedral. It was some of the most creative working years of my life as I did research for stone carvers and stained glass artists building the cathedral.
Dick Feller taught me that the key to building a cathedral, as to anything in life, is perfection. He repeatedly said that he was a perfectionist. If a work of art in the cathedral did not please him, he would have it done over again until it at least reached for perfection. He taught me that God is perfect and man is imperfect, but by striving for God’s perfection in one’s life works, one becomes more and more like the Deity, with whom he is to spend eternity.
At Alpha Rho Chapter at the University of West Virginia, Dick as a young KA fell under the tutelage of Dr. William Sprigg Hamilton, who co-authored the last revision of the customs of the Order with Samuel Z. Ammen. Hamilton, a great mystic, saw spiritual truth behind symbols. Hamilton had known Ammen and saw a high spiritual purpose for the Order, and he communicated it to Dick Feller. As Province Commander and then as Knight Commander, Dick, true to Dr. Hamilton, sought to put the customs back at the center of the Order.
I served on the ritual committee when Dick Feller was Knight Commander. On the ritual committee I met Dick Wilson, Larry Nesbit, and former Knight Commander Howard Locke, all of whom shared Dick’s love and veneration of the KA ritual. Members of the committee, especially Dick Wilson, followed Dick Feller’s example by exhorting province councils, NLI and Conventions to return to the customs as the center of the Order. I would add John Milam to that early group. All of these men had their inspiration in Dick Feller. And I can truthfully say that the customs is nearer to the core of the Order than it was before Dick Feller began his work. It is there largely due to the influence of Dick Feller.
His life was centered in devotion to the Deity, which for him was through the Christian religion. He knew that there is a spark of the Divine in every man, awaiting to be kindled into a flame. By constantly striving for a high tone in all his dealings with others, Dick Feller made his life sublime. And now departing this world he leaves his footprint, the Washington National Cathedral, and I might add Kappa Alpha Order.
Dick’s wife Billie Feller is a gracious southern lady, who gave him strength in all his trials. With her and their two children we mourn this true knight. His remains have been interred within the Washington National Cathedral, the building of which he gave his life in the service to Him for whom it was built.
Richard T. Feller died April 6, 2003.
