Richard Ross Black
1925 - 2015
VETERAN
Early Life: Richard was born on April 10, 1925, in Snowflake, Arizona, to William Maxwell and Charlotte Julia Killian Black who were the proprietors of a trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Soon after his birth, the family moved and settled in Springville, Utah, acclimating to small town life during the economic struggles of the Great Depression.
Life's Work | Service | Interests: In 1943, Richard joined the United States Army Air Force on his 18th birthday and served honorably in the South Pacific Theater, whereby cementing his place in history as one of the Greatest Generation. Upon returning home, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Central States Mission, and later, enrolled in Brigham Young University. Richard married the love of his life, Leah Patricia Gorton, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Short of graduating BYU, he was accepted into dental school in Kansas City, Missouri. Following graduation he moved his family to Orem, Utah, where he practiced dentistry for the next 39 years. Besides his dental practice, he purchased the struggling Miracle Bowl in Orem, and with the partnership of his wife, transformed it into a successful family-run business. He loved nature and the land, so tried his hand at ranching and farming in Mount Pleasant, Utah, for a time. He enjoyed the company of friends, having a quick wit and often the center of attention, he spent countless camping weekends with the dune buggy crowd. During his retirement years, he and Pat built a home next to the golf course at the Star Valley Ranch in Thayne, Wyoming, where he could indulge in his passion for gardening, golf and humoring the grandkids with his embellished sense of historical accuracy. It's there on the ranch that he created lasting memories with the grandkids, sledding in winter behind the pickup and dune buggy chauffeur in the summer. In 2008, when the Wyoming winters became too harsh for an aging couple, he and Pat moved back to Orem, Utah, surrounding themselves with family. He is remembered as a man's man where his word was his bond and a handshake was a binding contract. He was compassionate with a hard exterior sometimes, but underneath, a gentle soul. He loved life, lived it fully and at the end, sometimes a pancake surrounded by friends at Callie's Café is better than anything. Richard Ross Black passed away on May 22, 2015, at the Central Utah Veterans Care Center. He rejoined Patricia, his wife of 64 years, who preceded him in death by 52 days. He was 90 years old.
Survived By: His children: W. Michael Black of Orem, Kim B. (Todd) Olsen of Salem, Dorothy K. (Dan) Maryon of Draper and Richard G. (Linda) Black of Alpine; 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Preceded In Death By: His wife, parents, nine siblings, two grandsons and two sons-in-law.
Arrangements & Obituary: © 2015 | Utah Valley Mortuary
Services: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Paints
Location: Sunset Heights 6th Ward Chapel | Orem, Utah
Interment Timpanogos Memorial Gardens
Bio compiled by: Annie Duckett Hundley
1925 - 2015
VETERAN
Early Life: Richard was born on April 10, 1925, in Snowflake, Arizona, to William Maxwell and Charlotte Julia Killian Black who were the proprietors of a trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Soon after his birth, the family moved and settled in Springville, Utah, acclimating to small town life during the economic struggles of the Great Depression.
Life's Work | Service | Interests: In 1943, Richard joined the United States Army Air Force on his 18th birthday and served honorably in the South Pacific Theater, whereby cementing his place in history as one of the Greatest Generation. Upon returning home, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Central States Mission, and later, enrolled in Brigham Young University. Richard married the love of his life, Leah Patricia Gorton, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Short of graduating BYU, he was accepted into dental school in Kansas City, Missouri. Following graduation he moved his family to Orem, Utah, where he practiced dentistry for the next 39 years. Besides his dental practice, he purchased the struggling Miracle Bowl in Orem, and with the partnership of his wife, transformed it into a successful family-run business. He loved nature and the land, so tried his hand at ranching and farming in Mount Pleasant, Utah, for a time. He enjoyed the company of friends, having a quick wit and often the center of attention, he spent countless camping weekends with the dune buggy crowd. During his retirement years, he and Pat built a home next to the golf course at the Star Valley Ranch in Thayne, Wyoming, where he could indulge in his passion for gardening, golf and humoring the grandkids with his embellished sense of historical accuracy. It's there on the ranch that he created lasting memories with the grandkids, sledding in winter behind the pickup and dune buggy chauffeur in the summer. In 2008, when the Wyoming winters became too harsh for an aging couple, he and Pat moved back to Orem, Utah, surrounding themselves with family. He is remembered as a man's man where his word was his bond and a handshake was a binding contract. He was compassionate with a hard exterior sometimes, but underneath, a gentle soul. He loved life, lived it fully and at the end, sometimes a pancake surrounded by friends at Callie's Café is better than anything. Richard Ross Black passed away on May 22, 2015, at the Central Utah Veterans Care Center. He rejoined Patricia, his wife of 64 years, who preceded him in death by 52 days. He was 90 years old.
Survived By: His children: W. Michael Black of Orem, Kim B. (Todd) Olsen of Salem, Dorothy K. (Dan) Maryon of Draper and Richard G. (Linda) Black of Alpine; 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Preceded In Death By: His wife, parents, nine siblings, two grandsons and two sons-in-law.
Arrangements & Obituary: © 2015 | Utah Valley Mortuary
Services: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Paints
Location: Sunset Heights 6th Ward Chapel | Orem, Utah
Interment Timpanogos Memorial Gardens
Bio compiled by: Annie Duckett Hundley
Richard Ross Black
1925 - 2015
VETERAN
Early Life: Richard was born on April 10, 1925, in Snowflake, Arizona, to William Maxwell and Charlotte Julia Killian Black who were the proprietors of a trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Soon after his birth, the family moved and settled in Springville, Utah, acclimating to small town life during the economic struggles of the Great Depression.
Life's Work | Service | Interests: In 1943, Richard joined the United States Army Air Force on his 18th birthday and served honorably in the South Pacific Theater, whereby cementing his place in history as one of the Greatest Generation. Upon returning home, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Central States Mission, and later, enrolled in Brigham Young University. Richard married the love of his life, Leah Patricia Gorton, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Short of graduating BYU, he was accepted into dental school in Kansas City, Missouri. Following graduation he moved his family to Orem, Utah, where he practiced dentistry for the next 39 years. Besides his dental practice, he purchased the struggling Miracle Bowl in Orem, and with the partnership of his wife, transformed it into a successful family-run business. He loved nature and the land, so tried his hand at ranching and farming in Mount Pleasant, Utah, for a time. He enjoyed the company of friends, having a quick wit and often the center of attention, he spent countless camping weekends with the dune buggy crowd. During his retirement years, he and Pat built a home next to the golf course at the Star Valley Ranch in Thayne, Wyoming, where he could indulge in his passion for gardening, golf and humoring the grandkids with his embellished sense of historical accuracy. It's there on the ranch that he created lasting memories with the grandkids, sledding in winter behind the pickup and dune buggy chauffeur in the summer. In 2008, when the Wyoming winters became too harsh for an aging couple, he and Pat moved back to Orem, Utah, surrounding themselves with family. He is remembered as a man's man where his word was his bond and a handshake was a binding contract. He was compassionate with a hard exterior sometimes, but underneath, a gentle soul. He loved life, lived it fully and at the end, sometimes a pancake surrounded by friends at Callie's Café is better than anything. Richard Ross Black passed away on May 22, 2015, at the Central Utah Veterans Care Center. He rejoined Patricia, his wife of 64 years, who preceded him in death by 52 days. He was 90 years old.
Survived By: His children: W. Michael Black of Orem, Kim B. (Todd) Olsen of Salem, Dorothy K. (Dan) Maryon of Draper and Richard G. (Linda) Black of Alpine; 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Preceded In Death By: His wife, parents, nine siblings, two grandsons and two sons-in-law.
Arrangements & Obituary: © 2015 | Utah Valley Mortuary
Services: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Paints
Location: Sunset Heights 6th Ward Chapel | Orem, Utah
Interment Timpanogos Memorial Gardens
Bio compiled by: Annie Duckett Hundley
1925 - 2015
VETERAN
Early Life: Richard was born on April 10, 1925, in Snowflake, Arizona, to William Maxwell and Charlotte Julia Killian Black who were the proprietors of a trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Soon after his birth, the family moved and settled in Springville, Utah, acclimating to small town life during the economic struggles of the Great Depression.
Life's Work | Service | Interests: In 1943, Richard joined the United States Army Air Force on his 18th birthday and served honorably in the South Pacific Theater, whereby cementing his place in history as one of the Greatest Generation. Upon returning home, he served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Central States Mission, and later, enrolled in Brigham Young University. Richard married the love of his life, Leah Patricia Gorton, in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Short of graduating BYU, he was accepted into dental school in Kansas City, Missouri. Following graduation he moved his family to Orem, Utah, where he practiced dentistry for the next 39 years. Besides his dental practice, he purchased the struggling Miracle Bowl in Orem, and with the partnership of his wife, transformed it into a successful family-run business. He loved nature and the land, so tried his hand at ranching and farming in Mount Pleasant, Utah, for a time. He enjoyed the company of friends, having a quick wit and often the center of attention, he spent countless camping weekends with the dune buggy crowd. During his retirement years, he and Pat built a home next to the golf course at the Star Valley Ranch in Thayne, Wyoming, where he could indulge in his passion for gardening, golf and humoring the grandkids with his embellished sense of historical accuracy. It's there on the ranch that he created lasting memories with the grandkids, sledding in winter behind the pickup and dune buggy chauffeur in the summer. In 2008, when the Wyoming winters became too harsh for an aging couple, he and Pat moved back to Orem, Utah, surrounding themselves with family. He is remembered as a man's man where his word was his bond and a handshake was a binding contract. He was compassionate with a hard exterior sometimes, but underneath, a gentle soul. He loved life, lived it fully and at the end, sometimes a pancake surrounded by friends at Callie's Café is better than anything. Richard Ross Black passed away on May 22, 2015, at the Central Utah Veterans Care Center. He rejoined Patricia, his wife of 64 years, who preceded him in death by 52 days. He was 90 years old.
Survived By: His children: W. Michael Black of Orem, Kim B. (Todd) Olsen of Salem, Dorothy K. (Dan) Maryon of Draper and Richard G. (Linda) Black of Alpine; 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren.
Preceded In Death By: His wife, parents, nine siblings, two grandsons and two sons-in-law.
Arrangements & Obituary: © 2015 | Utah Valley Mortuary
Services: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Paints
Location: Sunset Heights 6th Ward Chapel | Orem, Utah
Interment Timpanogos Memorial Gardens
Bio compiled by: Annie Duckett Hundley
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MARRIED SEPT. 8, 1950
CHILDREN: MICHAEL, KIM, DOROTHY, RICK
US ARMY
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