Richard Everhart

Richard Keith Everhart was born on November 15th, 1935, to Frank and Ruth Everhart in McPherson. He was raised in the Canton-Galva area with his two sisters and three brothers. He enjoyed playing football throughout high school and graduated from Canton High School in 1954.

He then went to Russell, Kansas where he worked at the Phillips 66 Service Station for 8 months. He then returned to McPherson where he worked for Kohler's Standard Service Station until the end of 1956.

He began working for the McPherson Board of Public Utilities in 1957 in maintenance and he continued through several promotions as a dedicated employee until he retired in 2000, after nearly 44 years of service as the Superintendent of Electrical Productions.

On June 9, 1957, Richard married Darlene Unruh of Galva, Kansas. They have enjoyed 47 wonderful years of marriage and were blessed with two daughters, Darla Richelle and Sharon Lynnette. Darla then had three children, Erika Jo, Lacey Somer, and Elijah Dean. Sharon had five children, Brandy Lynn, Cory Ray, Brittany Dawn, Courtney Renee, and Ashley Danielle. In 2002, Richard and Darlene were blessed with their first great-grandson, Isaiah Abrahm, with another great-grandchild expected this winter. Richard enjoyed spending time with his family and had a very close and uniquely special relationship with each of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandson.

Richard had several hobbies, which he kept throughout his life. He collected horse bits and coins. He also enjoyed refinishing and restoring antique furniture and other wood working projects, and going to auctions. He loved to hunt and fish and he particularly loved to go fishing in Canada. He thought that the scenery was so beautiful and he always boasted about how fantastic the fishing was there. Richard also liked photography and often photographed many beautiful outdoor scenes of some of his favorite hunting and fishing spots.

He had only a few dreams left in this world. He looked forward to going to Canada again this fall, and also wished that he and Darlene could have done more traveling. Richard lost his battle with cancer on Wednesday, July 14, 2004, at the age of 68.

He is survived by his wife, Darlene; daughters, Darla and Sharon, eight grandchildren, one great-grandson, and his sister, Carol Ruth Ek, all of McPherson; a brother, Lawrence Dwight of Canton, and twin brother, Charles Robert of Herington. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Joe, and his sister, Bertha Ann.

We will miss his soft warm hands, jolly sense of humor, and never-ending generosity. Everyone who knew him knew that they could always count on him for a helping hand, or words of encouragement.

The funeral service will be at 2:30 PM, Saturday, July 17, at the First United Methodist Church, McPherson. Burial will be in the Empire Cemetery, rural Galva. Visitation will be from 3 to 8 PM Friday at Stockham Family Funeral Home, with the family present from 6 to 8 PM. The casket will be closed.

Memorial donations may be given to First United Methodist Church, Galva United Methodist Church, or Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice (Wichita) in care of Stockham Family Funeral Home. To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Richard Everhart please visit our Sympathy Store.