Richard R. King

Hardworking, ornery, and a loving husband, father and grandfather are just a few ways to describe Richard R. King. You could tell how much he cared about you by the amount of effort he put into teasing and playing jokes on you. He was proud of all of his family and the greatest gift he could receive after having two daughters, was welcoming four wonderful grandchildren into his life and heart.

In 1960, the United States announced that 3,500 American soldiers were sent to Vietnam to aid in the war efforts. With one hundred million television sets in use worldwide, the first televised presidential debate was aired, leading to John F. Kennedy being elected as the 35th U.S. President. The Flintstones premiered on TV and the classic American novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" was published. The same year, aluminum cans were first being used, Xerox introduced the first photocopier and Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed. Out of all the news though, nothing was more important to David B. and Cora Mae (Smith) King as they announced the birth of their first and only child. Richard R. King was born on July 15, 1960 in Whitley County, Indiana.

As a boy he enjoyed the typical things of the time like fishing, riding sleds, playing basketball and going snipe hunting. It was always a great joy for him to visit his grandparents in Kentucky and get to play with other cousins. He grew up in Columbia City and by the time he became a freshman, his parents purchased a farm in rural Churubusco. He started attending Churubusco High School and that would change his life journey forever. He met Sherry Manns his sophomore year and even though her mother said "he is a nice boy", it took his persistency for Sherry to realize how true her mother was. The high school sweethearts would date through the rest of their school years and after he graduated with the Class of 1978, the two were married on April 14, 1979 at Packerton Free Will Baptist Church.

Richard would join the U.S. Air Force in 1980 and the young couple would live in several areas of the country and in Germany from 1982-1986 before moving to Churubusco in 1989. After serving 10 years, he decided to join the Indiana Air National Guard and serve another 10 years in the Indiana Air National Guard, 122nd Fighter Wing, retiring from the Weapons and Ammo Shop. In 2016 he was inducted into the AMMO I.Y.A.A.Y.A.S. Hall of Fame. Being a hard worker, Richard also worked in construction building homes, tinted windows and drove semi for over 20 years, including 17 of them driving as a team with his wife. He would drive one shift and Sherry would sleep and then they would switch off as they traveled routes to the West Coast. For the past few years, he was driving for Air Products located in Butler, Indiana.

Richard did enjoy his spare time and kept busy. In his younger adult years, he hunted and always found relaxation in fishing. He was great at fabricating and building anything he needed. He enjoyed fishing trips to Table Rock, Missouri and one trip of going with his AMMO buddies to Alaska to fish and go whitewater rafting. As his family expanded to welcoming grandchildren, his hands turned into gentle and loving hands. Richard adored all four of his grandchildren and loved being able to interact with them. He took them on tractor rides around his pond, and amongst some of the family vacations, took them to Disney World and Tennessee to go whitewater rafting. As a practical joke, it was not uncommon to receive your Christmas gift from him wrapped in duct tape. It took a good knife to pry back the layers that would be wrapped around the box and sometime to find a box within a box, all wrapped in the tape.

The world will never be quite the same after Monday, August 20, 2018 when Richard King, 58, of Churubusco, Indiana passed away at the Cleveland Clinic. He leaves behind his loving wife of 40 years, Sherry King; daughters, Daphne (Jason) Anderson, of Prairieville, Louisiana and Melinda (Kevin) Love, of Laotto; father, David King, of Salem; and grandchildren, Sierra King, Brock Love, Makayla Love and Alexis Guise. He was preceded in death by his mother, Cora Mae King.

Visitation is 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. Thursday, August 23, 2018 at DeMoney-Grimes, a Life Story Funeral Home, 600 Countryside Drive, Columbia City. Funeral services are 10 a.m. Friday at the funeral home with visitation one hour prior. Pastor Tim Grable of Sugar Grove Church of God will be officiating. Burial will follow at Blue River Cemetery, north of Columbia City where military honors will be rendered by the Whitley County Korean War Veteran's Honor Guard. Memorial gifts may be given in his memory to grandchildren's education fund, I.C.O. Sherry. Visit www.demoneygrimes.com to send his family condolences online.