Richard Andrew Henry

Richard Andrew Henry, was born in Greeley, Colorado on July 2nd, 1948 and went to be with the Lord on October 5th, 2019 at 71 years old, in his home surrounded by his family.

Richard was the oldest child of Jesse Delapas Henry and Irene (Rivas) Henry.  Throughout his childhood his family moved frequently, working in the beet fields near Greeley and then the cotton fields in Oklahoma.

After completing the 8th grade Richard quit school to help his parents provide for their family.  In 1966 he enlisted in the United States Army, shortly after arriving at basic training he received his draft notice, but he was ahead of Uncle Sam this time.  He was deployed to Vietnam and served there for one year before being Honorably Discharged.

After his discharge he made his home in Yuma to follow where his family had moved and he began working for the Conoco station in town. A short time later met his soulmate, Evelyn Alice McCall.

On April 20th, 1969 they were married at the Nazarene Church in Yuma.  They then moved to Burlington for a brief period of time where he worked for the Burlington Feedlot.  The opportunity to move back to Yuma arose, so they moved back home in 1971 and he started a long career at Equity Coop Oil Company which lasted 29 ½ years, many of those as manager.  Richard and Evelyn were blessed with two children.  Eric Matthew was born May 8th 1973 and Nathan Andrew three years later, on May 10th 1976.  Richard was a very proud Dad of his two boys. 

Richard was voted on as a member of the Yuma Volunteer Fire Department in 1985 which started his longtime love of public service.  He continued that love three years later when he became an EMT- Basic IV.

Equity Coop was bought out by M&M Coop and they chose a different manager.  He was not out of work for long though as he was hired by Great Plains Coop in Wray where he worked for 4 years as a manager until they were bought out by CHS.  Richard retired, but for anyone that knew him, he was restless and ended up trying his hand as a 911 emergency dispatcher for WY Communications.  He was not cut out to sit in a small dark office and so he then took a job as the Code Enforcement Officer for the City of Yuma.  At the age of 57, Richard got his GED and shortly after that he was given the opportunity to attend the Law Enforcement Academy and become a Police Officer with the City of Yuma.  Richard graduated the OJC Academy in December of 2007.

Yuma was fortunate to receive funding to start a K-9 program and not finding anyone to volunteer they asked the oldest person on the Department.  Richard agreed, and in May of 2009 headed off to Wellington, Colorado to train with his new partner in crime (fighting), Ivan.  Ivan and Richard were inseparable until Ivan’s passing in August of 2017.  They assisted many agencies throughout Colorado and were a part of several high-profile drug interdictions and instrumental in locating an escaped inmate from Sterling DOC.

Richard got to enjoy the marriages of both of his sons, which gained him Jen and Kristen, the daughters that evened out the odds for poor Evelyn that was surrounded by boys.  Eric and Jen gave him two grandchildren, Teegan Grace in 2012 and Logan Matthew in 2013.  These two had him wrapped around their finger from first sight.  He was a proud “PaPa” and loved them greatly.

Richard “retired” again in May 2018 but unfortunately, he had no time to enjoy it.  In June he had two severe strokes and though he fought very hard to recover, he never overcame the damage it caused.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents, Jesse and Irene and his mother and father in-law Arthur and Alice McCall.  He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Evelyn, his children Eric (Jen) of Yuma, Nathan (Kristen) of Denver, and his two grandchildren, Teegan and Logan. He is also survived by his extended family, his brothers and sisters, Isabell (Robert) Meier of Yuma; Ellen (Miguel) Barbosa, Jesse Henry, Teresa Gingles all of Holly; Nick Henry of Texas, brother and sister in-laws, Earl (Loretta) McCall of Yuma, Leonard (Vivian) McCall of Nampa, ID, Doris (Eugene) Smith of Yuma, Gary (Virginia) McCall of Yuma, Dale McCall of Longmont, and many nieces and nephews and numerous friends.

The Funeral Service was held on Monday, October 14, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at the First Church of The Nazarene iin Yuma, Colorado with Don Smith officiating.  Interment will follow at the Yuma Cemetery.  Baucke Funeral Home directed the service. 

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