Raymond Ross Richards
RAYMOND ROSS RICHARDS, of Little Rock, passed away Saturday, March 10, 2012. He was born March 5, 1921 to Alfred and Maggie Richards in Jacksonville, Ark. He was preceded in death by his wife of 64 years, Dean, his mother, father, two brothers, three sisters, and son-in-law, Wayne Christian.
Survivors include daughter, Barbara (Bill) Lemmer; grandson, Brent (Tammy) Christian; brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Nelda Grissom; brother-in-law, David Heffington of Conway. In high school he played baseball and dreamed of being a pro baseball player.
He joined the Merchant Marines in 1942 and delivered supplies to ships. After the war he went to work for AP&L (Entergy) for 31 years. After retirement he got involved in politics and formed a group of people called "Private Enterprise Employees & Retirees" (PEER).
They lobbied State Legislators who passed a bill allowing state and all retirees an equal $6000 deduction off their pensions when filing state tax returns. During this time, he and his wife were members of Jacksonville Razorback Club, traveling to all Razorback games.
After the death of his wife, he went to live at Elmcroft of Maumelle Assisted Living. The staff took real good care of him. Special thanks to Stephanie for all the smiles and Nurse Carlie for all the special attention she gave to my father.
As his Alzheimer's became worse, Odyssey Hospice also took good care of him. Thanks to Patty, April, and Chaplain Ted Grove for their support. He helped his family in a lot of ways to give them starts in their adult life, which he will always be remembered for.
Graveside services will be 3 p.m. Tuesday at Pinecrest Memorial Park in Alexander with Chaplain Ted Grove officiating. Visitation will be Tuesday from 1 to 2 p.m. at Griffin Leggett Healey & Roth, 5800 West 12th Street, Little Rock. Mr. Richard's online guestbook is available at www.griffinleggetthealeyroth.com.
Published March 12, 2012