Don Richardson

Kay Don Richardson, Seminole resident, passed away at the age of 77, on Thursday, December 24, 2020, in Midwest City, Oklahoma, with family by his side.

Don was born on February 15, 1943, in Jacksonville, Texas to Travis and Coralie (Lewey) Richardson. He was the youngest of four.  His sister Sue was the oldest and he had twin brothers named John and Carrell.  Coralie passed away soon after Don’s birth and family stepped in to help out with the children.  Don went to stay with Coralie’s sister, Ethyl and her husband Pat.  Pat and Ethyl Rooney raised Don as their own here in Seminole.

Don graduated from Seminole High School in 1961.  He went off to college and soon after married his High School sweetheart Phyllis Stilwell.  He graduated from Oklahoma State University with his Bachelor of Science in Business degree in 1965.  After graduation, he moved with his new and growing family back to Seminole and began a career in Management in the textile industry at Blue Bell in Seminole.

During his career, Don worked for Levi Strauss, where he managed facilities and even traveled internationally for the company.  Don also worked with the textile group Milliken to help them set up new production facilities to produce automotive interiors.  Later in his career, he returned to his home town of Seminole to work at Wrangler.  He even returned to school and earned the degree of Master of Science in Human Resources.

Don was well respected, kind and honest.  He was hardworking and always put his family first.  A good Christian man, he was always willing to help others.  Don and Phyllis raised two children, Patricia and Gregory.  He inspired both children to complete college where Trish now works in the mental health field as a therapist in Amarillo and Greg is an architect in Fort Worth.

Don always enjoyed being outdoors.  He played golf, enjoyed shooting sports, boating, camping, canoeing and loved to travel with his wife and family.  He enjoyed fishing most of all. Don even taught his wife to fish top water for largemouth bass on Lake Texhoma.  After retirement, taking the boat out and fishing with his son became one of his favorite activities.

Don took his family on many wonderful trips.  His interest in history and need to explore often took them to historical sites and landmarks around the country.  His favorite trips were taking his children and grandchildren to Disney World in Florida.  One of his last trips was to Yellowstone Park, seeing Ol’ Faithful and enjoying the beauty in the world around us.

Preceding Don in death were his parents Travis Seale and Coralie Richardson; his parents who raised him, Pat and Ethyl Rooney; step-mother, Margie Richardson; two brothers, John Richardson and Carrell Richardson and his grandson, Timothy Richardson.

Survivors include, Phyllis Richardson, his beloved wife of 58 years; daughter, Trish and her husband Glenn Bradford; son, Greg and his wife Sherry Richardson; sisters, Sue Wyrick and her husband Roy and step sister Debbie Peacock; granddaughter, Alicia Richardson; step-grandchildren, Christopher Bradford; Daven Terrell and husband David; step-great grandchildren, Dakota, Dayton, Daryn, Dawn, David and Dayna and many other family and friends.

Memorial contributions may be made to a local food bank. The family requested that if you like, you could plant a tree in memory of Don.

Graveside memorial services will be held on Saturday, November 20, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. at Maple Grove Cemetery in Seminole, Oklahoma.

Arrangements are under the direction of Swearingen Funeral Home in Seminole, Oklahoma.