Richard “Rick” Kent Dougherty, 69, of Eudora, Kansas and formerly of Russell, Kansas, passed away Friday, March 19, 2021 at his home.
Rick was born October 4, 1951 in Lucas, Kansas. He was one of five sons born to William B. and MariAnnette (Chard) Dougherty. He grew up in Lucas and graduated from Lucas High School in the Class of ’69.
Rick was united in marriage to Shelley (Schmidt) Spradlin on December 26, 1995 in Russell, Kansas. Rick and Shelley brought together a family of four children: Dawn, Lindsay, Jana and Jeff. They made their home in Russell for 12 years before moving to Eudora.
In Rick’s earlier years, he began his career as a salesman for LaFarge Cement Company. His most loved role was as a PlanScape Sales Manager for Virco Manufacturing, a school supply company, before retiring in February 2020. He was a member of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Eudora and was a 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. When living in Russell, Rick served on the USD 407 School Board for over ten years. He enjoyed a good round of golf; drawing and designing projects for his family and friends; cheering on KU Basketball; and refereeing and umpiring youth sports. His main love in life was his family.
Rick’s surviving family include his wife of 25 years, Shelley, of the home; daughters, Dawn Holecek (Rich) of Paxico, Kansas, Lindsay Lee (Desmond) of Palm Harbor, Florida and Jana Spradlin (Justin) of Lee’s Summit, Missouri; son, Jeff Spradlin of Platte City, Missouri; brothers, Tarry Dougherty (Connie) of Lucas, Kansas, Bernie Dougherty (Linda) of Parsons, Kansas, Tim Dougherty (Kristie) of Wichita, Kansas and Todd Dougherty (Teri) of Lucas, Kansas; and nine grandchildren.
Rick was preceded in death by his parents.
A celebration of Rick’s life will be held during the funeral mass at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, March 24, 2021 at St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Russell. Burial will follow at the St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Russell. Visitation will be held from 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Tuesday, March 23, 2021 at Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, with the family present to greet friends from 5:00 to 7:00 PM with the rosary and vigil following at 7:15 PM. A Memorial has been established with the K-18 Baseball Association. Contributions and condolences may be sent to Pohlman-Varner-Peeler Mortuary, who is in charge of these arrangements.