Quiet Guardian and Family Man: The Life of Dick Distin

Basic Information

Early life and the roots of a quiet kind of grit

I like to picture 1937 Ventura County mornings—paper crisp, radio on—because that was the world Dick was born into on August 2, 1937. The youngest of five children, son of Harold and Ethel, he grew up inside a large family—Laura, Shirley, Betty, Bob and then Dick—where you learned fast how to listen and how to stand up when needed. Numbers matter here: five siblings, two parents, and one role that would later repeat itself in his life—the steady supporting hand.

He served in the U.S. Navy after high school, a classic mid-century rite of passage that shaped a generation; that part of his biography explains a lot about the discipline and the low-key leadership that would mark his later work as a police officer and private investigator.

Marriages, blending households, and the cinematic tie to a famous family

If you care about dramatic arcs—think small-town noir meets family drama—Dick’s life supplied it. He married Janet McEgan early in his adult life; together they had three children: Tracy, Brandy (later known as Brandy Anderson), and Todd. That nuclear family was one chapter.

The next chapter reads like a plot twist from a biopic. In January 1968 Dick married Vivian Dorraine Liberto—better known to many as the first wife of Johnny Cash. That union made Dick a stepfather to Vivian’s four daughters; he “helped raise” Rosanne, Kathy, Cindy, and Tara—four children whose lives intersect with American music history in ways small and large. To put it plainly: Dick’s life moved from ordinary civic duty into the orbit of pop culture by way of family ties—an intimate backstage pass rather than a spotlight.

Later, in 2009, a new chapter opened when Brandy introduced Dick to Janiece Bulgin; the two married, and Janiece brought two daughters—Kymberle (Kym) Carlson and Heidi Miller—into the family fold. When you map it, the household becomes a woven net: three biological children, four stepchildren from Vivian, and two stepchildren through Janiece—nine immediate children figures across two marriages.

Career: from uniform to investigation to travel

There’s a through-line in Dick’s occupations—service, protection, curiosity, guidance. He began in uniform with the U.S. Navy, moved into local law enforcement as a Ventura police officer, later translated that investigative instinct into private detective work, and eventually worked as a travel agent—helping people plot courses rather than chase them.

Numbers and dates are sparse in the public record for each job’s exact tenure, but the sequence matters: Navy → Ventura police officer → private investigator → travel agent. Each move reads like an actor shifting roles—still the same person, but answering different calls.

Family introductions—who’s who, in one tidy roll call

Here I introduce the family members as people you could meet at a Sunday barbecue: names, relationships, and one-line introductions.

Later years and the quiet legacy

Dick passed away on January 29, 2019, at age 81. If you measure legacy in small things—a well-told recollection at a family dinner, the way stepchildren call someone “dad”—then his legacy is layered and domestic: a Navy vet, a cop, a PI, a travel agent, a husband who remarried and stitched lives together. He wasn’t a headline-maker himself; he was the supporting character who helped the story move forward.

FAQ

Who was Dick Distin?

Dick Distin was a U.S. Navy veteran, Ventura police officer, private investigator and travel agent, known as a family man who married Vivian Liberto in January 1968 and later Janiece Bulgin in 2009.

When was Dick Distin born and when did he die?

He was born on August 2, 1937, and died on January 29, 2019, at age 81.

How many children did he have?

He had three biological children (Tracy, Brandy, Todd) and was stepfather to at least six other daughters across his marriages—four from Vivian and two from Janiece.

What was his connection to Johnny Cash?

He married Vivian Dorraine Liberto—Johnny Cash’s first wife—in January 1968 and helped raise Vivian’s four daughters.

What jobs did he hold during his life?

He served in the U.S. Navy, worked as a Ventura police officer, later as a private investigator, and also as a travel agent.

Is there public information about his net worth?

No reliable public estimate of his net worth is available.