Recent Obituaries

Passed away on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, in Kent, Washington at the age of 79. A resident of Kent for close to 20 years, Richard was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1941.

Richard loved his family, his church, toy trains, and all things aviation. Richard served in the U.S. Navy during the early 60’s and was proud of his service to our country. His love for aviation started at an early age, and he received his fixed wing pilots license at the age of 19, going on to attain multi-engine, instrument, helicopter and lighter than air ratings (Commercial and Certified Flight instructor). He flew his hot air balloon “Enchanter” all over the U.S., Canada and in France over a period of many years. His research on the early years of sport ballooning, along with an attention to detail and accuracy, led to his writing 17 articles for Ballooning Magazine, for which he was awarded the Editors Award by the Balloon Federation of America in 2020 for outstanding contributions to the sport.

Richard worked on family history for over 50 years, leaving behind an incredible amount of research and lineage to his family’s past, much of this done at a time when there were no computers or online researchcapability. He was very thoughtful of others, remembering conversations with people that seemed insignificant at the time, only to send a birthday or Christmas gift months later that related to that conversation. Richard loved to travel and visit our National Parks, his favorite being Glacier National Park in Montana. He was a kid at heart, a wonderful brother, uncle, and friend. He is survived by his sisters Gale Douglass Court (John), Nancy Elizabeth Douglass, brothers James M. Douglass (Jeanette) and John R. Douglass (Cindy), as well as a large extended family of nieces and nephews, and an uncountable number of friends.

A celebration of life ceremony is being planned for February 2022 in Clearwater, FL. Donations in his honor can be made to the Wounded Warrior Project.