Richards, Dale E. 1934-2023

RICHARDS, HALL, BUCKALEW, KOEGLE, GUTHRIE, MCKELVEY

Posted By: Volunteer Transcriber
Date: 8/4/2023 at 08:39:18

Dale E Richards
September 16, 1934 ~ July 29, 2023 (age 88)

Dale E Richards, 88, of Newton died on Saturday, July 29, 2023, at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m., Friday, August 4, at the Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory. The family will greet friends after the service at the funeral home. Memorials to the First United Methodist Church may be left at the funeral home.

Dale, the son of E.C. (Clinton) and Helen (Hall) Richards was born on September 16,1934 at home in rural Marion County, Iowa. He grew up on the farm near Columbia, Iowa, and through the 8th grade, he rode a pony to the one-room school house. When Dale started 9th grade, his parents, upon an aunt’s recommendation, moved him into a rooming house in Chariton, Iowa during the week, so he could attend high school there. He graduated from Chariton High School in 1953. While in high school, and shortly thereafter, he worked at Montgomery Wards, where he met the love of his life, Barbara Buckalew. Dale and Barbara were married on May 28, 1955 in Williamson, Iowa. They recently celebrated their 68th anniversary. Dale worked for Winpower for 30 years and later retired from the Maytag Company.

Family was always important to Dale throughout his life. Weekends were spent on his parents’ farm and visiting family. Family vacations featured camping and fishing in Minnesota or visiting out-of-state family. Weekends were spent camping with family, especially after his parents started to camp. These experiences created many fond memories for all of us. Dale and Barbara travelled extensively. They visited their son Kevin in Germany when he was stationed in the Air Force there. They took a number of mini-vacations to Las Vegas, as well as a number of cruises with family, including to Alaska, the Panama Canal and family trips to Hawaii. For the past 22 years, they have spent six months each year at their winter home in Sun City, Arizona, and they loved being near a number of Barbara’s brother and sisters. The last three winters were made even better when their son Mike and his wife Diane started to winter in Sun City as well.

Growing up on a farm created a love of nature and wildlife that lasted throughout Dale’s life. He always had a soft spot for cats and dogs, and he was known to take in stray cats before retirement. Dale and Barbara kept a large garden throughout their marriage. Dale could (and would) spend hours watching the wildlife in his yards in Sun City and Newton. Feeding the quail, his pet hummingbird who would follow him around (including into the garage) and having a bobcat walk up to him on their patio in Arizona is what he looked forward to in the winter. Back in Iowa, feeding and watching the squirrels and birds from their wraparound porch filled many happy hours. He also loved to provide treats for the neighbor’s dog!

Dale was a gentle and patient man. He will always be remembered for his kindness and generosity. Dale is survived by his wife of 68 years, Barbara, sons Mike (Diane) Richards of Newton and Kevin (Kathi Koegle) of Coralville; grandchildren, Dave (Angie) Richards and Sara (Jeff) Guthrie, both of Newton, and step-grandson, Marc (Rachel) McKelvey of Janesville, Wisconsin; his great-grandsons Bryce and Jaiden Richards; great-granddaughters, Kaylee and Sophia Guthrie; and step-great-granddaughters, Dillinger, Rhydian, Hollis and Annix McKelvey.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Dale E Richards, please visit our floral store.

Services
MEMORIAL SERVICE
Friday
August 4, 2023
2:00 PM
Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory
1115 E. 19th St. N.
Newton, IA 50208-2539
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VISITATION WITH A COFFEE TIME
Friday
August 4, 2023
2:30 PM to 4:00 PM
Wallace Family Funeral Home and Crematory
1115 E. 19th St. N.
Newton, IA 50208-2539
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August 1, 2023 5:44 PM ~ The Wallace Family Funeral Home, Newton, Iowa 29 July 2023.