Unfortunately for the members and employees at the Gleason Family YMCA, there will be no more Mr. Nice Guy.

On Friday, Wellness Instructor Richard “Dick” Dias retired after six years working at the Y, and by the reaction of those who know him, he will be dearly missed.

“He’s been an inspiration to our youth, and he has gone above and beyond, especially with the older crowd,” said Wareham resident and YMCA member Michael Frates. “He’s done so much. He’s a powerful example to our community. You can ask a lot of people around here about him.”

Dias, who’s from Assonet, taught gym and science in the Freetown/Lakeville school system for 35 years. Upon retiring from teaching, he took the job at the Y.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” said Dias, who said he’s going to continue to help his son Dan coach freshmen boys baseball and football at Bishop Stang High School. “It’s been wonderful.”

“He’s retiring to come here to exercise,” joked Y member Barbara Smith. “He’s supported an atmosphere of friendliness and congeniality — most of the staff here is like that. And he’s good at it.”

“He’s the ambassador of the Y,” said former fellow employee and Wareham resident Happy Lopes, who recently retired himself. “He’s the best thing that ever happened here. The people love talking to him. He never sits down. He’s always walking around talking to people. He’s just a great person to work with.”

“I’m better at talking than I am at cleaning the machines,” said Dias in response to Lopes’ remarks.

Others had good things to say about Dias as well.

“He’s a nice guy,” said Y volunteer Brendan Goss. “I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s a funny guy, too. I’m going to miss my friend Dick.”

“He’s the best,” added the YMCA's Cathy Longfield.

“He’ll even go out to the car and help one of our members with MS to get in here and go through her workout every day,” said Frates. “He added a little bit of humor, and he keeps people coming back that don’t necessarily feel comfortable coming to the gym.”

Dias said he got inspiration from fellow employee Wally Quigg, who also recently retired.

“I learned the ropes from Wally here — I can’t say enough about Wally,” said Dias. “When I was done teaching, (the job) was something to keep me busy, but the Y’s become a family to me.”