John Darrel Richardson

Services were 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20, in Montgomery-Viets Chapel, Buffalo, with the Rev. Harold Mayes and the Rev. William “Bud” Shackelford, Ash Grove, officiating. Cremation was accorded with burial to follow at a later date at Oaklawn Cemetery in Buffalo. Visitation was 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, at the funeral home. John Darrel (Pop) Richardson was born Sept. 6, 1917, in Lindon, Colo., the son of Silas Hubert and Mary Cecilia (Lewis) Richardson. He died Nov. 15, 2009, at Colonial Springs Healthcare Center, Buffalo, where he had been a resident following a stroke during the big ice storm of 2007. He was 92 years, 2 months and 9 days of age. At the age of 6, his family moved to Arkansas. He received the majority of his education in Habberton, Ark., and attended the University of Arkansas training school in Fayetteville, majoring in agriculture. At age 20, he and his parents moved to Dallas County to farm. He purchased a store and filling station combination where Hale’s Fireworks now stands. While continuing to farm with his aging parents, he also owned and operated three different cafes in and around the Buffalo area. He married Rosemarie Glower Martin and helped raise her three children from a previous marriage with three additional children of his own. When his parents retired, they moved to Buffalo and purchased a number of plots on East Main Street where he and his family lived caring for his parents until their deaths. When his marriage dissolved he raised his children there with the support of friends and neighbors. He continued to reside there for almost 60 years. A man of many talents he worked in a variety of retail businesses. He served his community for over 25 years as an on-call deputy and was named a lifetime honorary deputy sheriff for Dallas County. He was a night watchman for the Dallas County School District and became an official of the local Odd Fellows organization. He was best known for his many years as a cement contractor. He helped lay the foundations, walkways and street curbs for many offices, businesses and homes. Never one to sit in the office, he was his own head foreman personally working and overseeing concrete installations. He also helped landscape many area businesses and homes contributing to the area’s fall foliage. He became a mentor to area youth and as he entered his retirement years he took over management of the Buffalo Pool Hall, the owner renaming it “Pop’s Place.” It became a place for family recreation. He was known as an avid gardener and outdoorsman and frequently assisted Dallas County Extension agents in their duties. He always lived humbly, quietly helping his neighbors, friends or anyone in need. He greatly enjoyed fishing and contributed to the dinner tables of many a friend and neighbor. He continued to enjoy the gathering of friends in his final years at Colonial Springs. With the assistance of the staff he even had a small raised-bed garden in his final months. He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers: Albert, Herman and Francis Richardson; one sister, Gladys Gayer; his former wife, Rosemarie Dodd; two stepdaughters: Miriam Gayle Martin and Sandra Martin Underwood; and one grandson, Douglus Wayne Richardson. Survivors include one daughter, Merry Cecilia Baker, Walnut Grove; two sons: Darrel William “Bill” and wife, Carla Richardson, Buffalo, and Charles Victor and wife, Kimberly Richardson, Fremont, Calif.; nine grandchildren: Gene Martin, Oakland, Calif., Dustin Underwood, Fremont, Calif., Stephanie and husband, Ed Grayson, Walnut Grove, Christa and husband, David Ranchie, Springfield, Ryan, Michael, Tyler and Kailey Richardson, Fremont, Calif. and Daniel Richardson, Buffalo; and other family and a large host of friends.

John Darrel Richardson

September 16, 1917 - November 15, 2009