Richard Wyatt Russell |
| Posted 2018-06-14 by Pat R |
| Wickenburg Sun (Wickenburg, Arizona) Wednesday, March 28, 2018, p. A-5 Richard "Dick" Wyatt Russell, of Wickenburg was born Aug. 19, 1933, in Des Moines, Iowa, to Leota and Charles Russell. He grew up in Des Moines, and loved spending time at out in the country at his grandfather's farm in southern Missouri where he was encouraged to do his favorite thing: ride his own horse. In high school, he felt very lucky to get summer jobs in northern Colorado as a wrangler on working guest ranches, which he loved doing for several years. He got to ride and take care of horses every day, and in his heart, he became a cowboy. It was a life-changing experience he said, a very happy time in his life, and horses grew to be a life-long passion for him. During the school year, he was on the high school's conference-winning track team running the hurdles and helping to win relays. After high school, Dick attended the University of Iowa in Iowa City, where he was a Phi Gamma Delta and made many life-long friends with whom he remained in touch. After graduating from the University of Iowa in 1956, Dick went to work in Des Moines, in the business where his dad was a stockholder and president: Thermogas Company, which involved retail and wholesale distribution of propane gas in Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois. Dick married Jean Albach who also attended the University of Iowa in 1958, and in the coming years, they had three children: Clay, Elizabeth and David. He eventually became vice president of marketing for Thermogas and the company's region grew from four states to 11. Dick was also a stockholder and director of Guardsman Life Insurance Company in Des Moines. In 1966, the Thermogas Company was sold to MAPCO of Tulsa, Okla., and Dick soon decided to leave the new company and follow a dream he'd had ever since he was a little boy. That dream was to be a cowboy, own a ranch, be around horses and cattle and live outdoors. He realized that he would never really be happy until he gave ranching a try. Finally, in 1968, he found a way to make his dream come true. He moved his family to Steamboat Springs, Colo., where he bought his first ranch in Yampa, about 20 miles outside of Steamboat. He raised Hereford cattle and started raising a small band of quarter horses. His family was the first to own a house on the ski mountain in Steamboat, and his three children grew up skiing and competing nationally. Besides ranching, Dick was a partner in a four-star restaurant called The Gallery, up on the ski mountain. He was also president of the Chamber of Commerce. In 1972, He bought a ranch in Toponas, Colo., and over time added more small ranches and was able to put together two large ranches. In 1983, Dick sold the ranches in Colorado and bought a ranch in Alliance, Neb., and also went into the feedlot business there with some other folks. When he bought the ranch in Alliance, Dick and Jean moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., about three hours away. Over the years, all his ranches were called Circle R Ranch. Eventually, Dick's children Clay, Libby and David married, and they each had two children--giving Dick six wonderful grandchildren--a girl and five boys. Dick and his first child, Stephanie Martin, were joyfully reunited. During these years Dick and Jean often vacationed at Rancho de los Caballeros, so when he sold the ranch in Nebraska as well as his share in the feedlot, they decided to leave Cheyenne and retire in Wickenburg. They became active in the community. Dick got involved on the board of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum. He brought his horse with him and kept him at Los Caballeros. He began riding out of Los Cab with the Desert Stags and many local friends. Dick was known as a wonderful horseman who clearly loved his horses and they him. He took great care of them. Dick also loved thoroughbred horse racing and at one time he owned and raced eight of them. Some of them even won once in a while, giving him 11 firsts. Several years went by while Jean developed a serious and life-threatening illness, which eventually lead to her passing away in 2001. But one day, some mutual friends introduced Dick to Carol Williams, the mother of two adult children, Lisa and Chris, and the grandmother to two boys, David and James. In 2000 Carol had moved to Wickenburg from Tucson to become the founding director of the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts, a position she had also held in Tucson. As Dick and Carol became acquainted with a little help from those friends, they realized that they enjoyed their time together so much that they wanted to spend all of it together. They were married in Durango, Colo., in June of 2003 with their families and a few friends together. Between them, Dick and Carol now had six children and eight grandchildren: seven boys and one girl who was Dick's. After three years as its director, Carol retired from the Webb Center so she and Dick could travel the west together, seeing beautiful country meeting great friends and have memorable times together. Dick introduced Carol to his love for fly fishing and collecting western art and she also served on the board of Desert Caballeros Western Museum. They both had a great interest in quarter horses and loved to ride their own very special palominos together in many different beautiful and interesting places. They rode several days a week. They were happily blessed to have found each other later in life and to find so much they enjoyed in common, so much to laugh about, and so much happiness in their marriage. Over the years, they built a life in Wickenburg and enjoyed the children and grandchildren who visited and explored the area as they had dreamed. A special man beloved by many, Dick passed away peacefully in his sleep on March 14, 2018, in Wickenburg, following a yearlong illness. He fought a hopeful, brave and determined fight. He was 85 years old. Dick is survived by his wife of 15 years, Carol Russell, of Wickenburg; his daughter Elizabeth McClintock and her two sons, Conor and Liam, all of the Boston, Mass., area; his son Clay Russell, wife Courtney and their son McCall and daughter Hadley of Boulder, Colo.; his son David Russell, wife Kelli and sons Markus and Ryan of Denver, Colo.; and his daughter, Stephanie Martin of Salt Lake City, Utah. Many who loved him will have the opportunity to pray for him and send love to him in an upcoming service; the date is to be announced. God bless Dick, his family and friends and all those who loved him dearly. He will be remembered and missed for his generous smile, his twinkling blue eyes, his presence and his natural way of connecting with people, horses and with so many friends in the Wickenburg area, Wyoming and Colorado. See Also: Find A Grave |
Note: These obituaries are transcribed as published and are submitted by volunteers who have no connection to the families. They do not write the obituaries and have no further information other than what is posted within the obituaries. We do not do personal research. For this you would have to find a volunteer who does this or hire a professional researcher.
Questions About This Project?