Richard Rutherford

Richard Louis Rutherford, son of Paul and Arlene Rutherford, was born on September 8, 1956, in Alva, Oklahoma and passed away July 7, 2022, in Derby, Kansas at the age of 65 years.

Visitation will be 3-8 pm Wednesday, July 13 with the family present from 5-7pm at Smith Mortuary, Derby, KS. Graveside Service will be 10:00 am Thursday, July 14 at Alva Municipal Cemetery in Alva, OK. Memorial service will follow at 3pm at First Presbyterian Church in Derby, KS.

Rick graduated from Waynoka High School in 1974. He attended U.S. Naval Preventative Medicine School, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital, and Northwestern Oklahoma State University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology along with minors in Psychology and Business Administration in 1985.

Rick served in the Navy from 1975-1980, and the Naval Reserve from 1980-1985 as a U.S. Naval Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Petty Officer. He then joined the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps assigned to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration where he served 25 years until retirement with the rank of Commander in August 2013.

Rick met Connie, the love of his life, at a church youth event during their senior year of high school. They married on January 2, 1975, in Alva, Oklahoma. They were happily married for 45 years and were best friends. They made their home all over the U.S. while serving in the military. They welcomed daughters Dana and Mika while Rick got his degree at NWOSU.

Rick loved any project he could be involved with, especially woodworking. He enjoyed teaching all of his grandchildren how to build, fix, and glue anything. He loved his family well and cherished his wife. He was a doting father, Pa and dog dad.

His love for Jesus and his dedication to his country have guided his life and will live on through his family and friends.

He was preceded in death by: wife Connie Rutherford; his parents, Paul and Arlene Rutherford; sister, Paula Rutherford; mother-in-law, Joan Nelson; aunts and uncles, and grandparents, Dick and Viva Thornton and P. D. and Effie Rutherford.

Rick is survived by his daughter and son-in-law, Dana and Andy Bartel and grandchildren, Peyton and Keagan of Derby, KS; daughter and son-in-law, Mika and Sean Roark and grandchildren, Calli and Colbi of Olathe, Kansas; sister and brother-in-law, Lois and Marvin Smith of Bryan, Texas; sister, Donna Varnell of Paris, Arkansas; brother and sister-in-law David Rutherford and Susan Narucki of San Diego, California, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Kelly and Butch Miller of Bartlesville, OK, brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Billy and Lisa Dimmick of Alva, OK; and numerous nieces, nephews, aunts, uncles, and cousins and many friends.

Memorials have been established with Ronald McDonald House in Wichita and Fold of Honor.