Jerry Don " Donny" Richards' Obituary
Jerry Don “Donny” Richards Jr of Wylie, TX passed away on Thursday, January 18, 2018, at the age of 55. Services will be held on Tuesday, January 23, 2018, at Restland Funeral Home and Cemetery’s Memorial Chapel in Dallas, TX. Visitation will be at 2:30 pm with the service immediately following. Donny was born on October 24, 1962, in Houston, TX to Jewell Dean Cunningham Richards and Jerry Don Richards Sr. Six years later, he was followed by a younger sister, Jenniffer Dawn Richards Norman. He was a member of the State Champion Union Hill Bulldog football team in 1978. After moving to the Dallas area in 1983, he welcomed three children: Janie Renee Richards, 31, Dane Alexander Richards, 22, and Joshua Cade Richards, 21. He married his best friend and love of his life, Janet Elaine Gabriel Richards in 2001, and gained another son, Derek Scott Vaughn. Janet and Donny spent 16 years together traveling the country visiting National Parks and monuments and cheering on the Oklahoma Sooners. He spent 13+ years as a team member of Whole Foods Market. He is also survived by his son-in-law, Oscar Urian Gonzalez, daughter-in-law Leah Elizabeth Clausen Vaughn, and granddaughter Katherine Elizabeth Vaughn. Friends and family say that Donny was the most loyal person they knew and that he loved unconditionally. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donation be made in his name to the National Parks Foundation at www.nationalparks.org, because as Donny would always say, “It’s all about the beauty in life.”
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