Richard J. Strickland, 81, of Bucyrus died Saturday, May 2, 2020 at his home under the care of his family and Kindred Hospice.

He was born March 1, 1939 in Mayfield, Utah to the late Julius and Jessie (Keele) Strickland. They soon made their way to Julius’ hometown of Laurel, Mississippi where Richard grew up with his two sisters and enjoying the outdoors. He met the love of his life, Carolyn Joanne Kelly when they were in the seventh grade. After graduating high school, Richard joined the US Air Force and married Joanne on November 4, 1957. He was honorably discharged in 1961 and enrolled in Mississippi State University where he studied mechanical engineering. He later earned his Master of Arts in Business and Masters of Science in Hazardous Waste Management. Richard worked for General Electric in Jackson, Miss. and moved to Bucyrus in 1979 where he later retired as Assistant Manager of GE’s Lamp Plant. He then shifted his talents to civic duty, serving Bucyrus and Crawford County as President of City Council, City Service Director, head of the Crawford County Landfill, and member of the Platting Committee.

Richard will be remembered as a devoted husband, father, friend and public servant. He and Carolyn enjoyed bowling, golf, tennis, gardening, and looked forward to dinners out with friends. He was a member of the Bucyrus Rotary and served on the board of the local Salvation Army. He liked tinkering around the house and seeing that lots of strands of GE Christmas lights decorated his home during the holidays. When his children were growing up, he was with them in the YMCA’s Indian Guide and Princess groups and supported their varied interests. “Papa’s” orneriness and funny spirit was always on display for his granddaughters who he loved dearly.

What made Richard happy in his later years included spending time cultivating his gardens, planting flowers in spring, going to Hardee’s for morning coffee and biscuits, and making sure the neighborhood squirrels were well fed. He also very much enjoyed people watching, lightning storms, and teaching Sami and Delaney to fish.

Richard is survived by children, Dr. R. Todd (Dr. Becky) Strickland of Bucyrus, Kelly DeBlaere (Wendy DeBlaere) of La Crescenta, California, and J. Micah Strickland of Bucyrus; granddaughters, Samantha and Delaney Strickland; and sisters, Bonnie (Ray) Dew and family and Ireda (Roderick) Walters and family. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by Joanne, his bride of 61 years, on September 6, 2019.

Please join Richard’s family at his graveside in Oakwood Cemetery on Saturday, May 9 where his funeral will be held at 2:00 pm with military rites by the Bucyrus Veterans Military Funeral Detail.

Memorial donations can be made payable to Bucyrus Salvation Army and given at the service or at Wise Funeral Service, 129 W. Warren St., Bucyrus, Ohio 44820.

View Richard’s tribute video from link below and share memories and photos on his tribute wall.

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