Jack John “JJ” Richard, died Sept. 30, 2021 at the age of 94 from complications of Parkinson’s disease. He was born in Dover, Ohio on October 25, 1926, son of Opal and Fred Richard. As a teenager he worked at his uncle’s grocery store delivering food and then learned to cut meat in the butcher shop. A WWII vet, he enlisted after graduating from Dover High School, in what was then the Army Air Corps, hoping to become a pilot. Soon after basic training he served at Howard Air Force Base and later Albrook Air Force Station, both in Panama. The Corps mission was to guard the Panama Canal against enemy submarines. Returning home at the end of WWII, he enrolled at Ohio State University, earning a BS in Geology. He married Ruth Marburger during college and went to work for Texaco Oil Company.
Working for Texaco on various seismic crews early in his career, they were sent to many “exotic” locations where each of their four children were born: Magnolia, AK, Roosevelt, UT, Glendive, MT and Minot, ND, to name a few. He ended his geophysical career with Texaco after 23 years and went on to become a geophysical consultant in Denver. He was instrumental in discovering and developing many productive oil and gas fields in the Rocky Mountain area. He served as President of the Denver Geophysical Society in 1973 and is an emeritus member of the SEG, DGS, AAPG and SIPES organizations.
When World War II ended, JJ was discharged before completing his pilot training in the Air Force. At the age of 65, he took pilot training, earned his license and went on to own and fly several private planes.
He is survived by his wife Ruth, their daughter Peggy (John) Brooker of Casper WY, son Michael (Rexann Willingham) of Albuquerque NM, son James (Karen) of Longmont CO, daughter Patricia Price of Peoria AZ, 4 grandchildren, 3 great- grandchildren, many nieces, nephews and many friends.
Memorial services will be held on Monday Oct. 25, 2021 at 10:00 am followed by a reception at Horan & McConaty Funeral Home, 7577 W. 80th Avenue (at Wadsworth Blvd) Arvada, CO 80003. Military honors will be held at 1:30 pm at Ft. Logan National Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made in JJ’s memory to the Parkinson’s Foundation.