Obituary of Dennis Richter

Obituary It is with great sadness we announce that Dennis Richter, beloved Father, Grandfather, Brother and Uncle passed away peacefully, April 12th, 2019, in Fort St. John at the age of 62 years. Dennis was born on June 14th, 1956 to Tony and Clarisse Richter in Edmonton, Alberta. He was predeceased by both of his parents. Dennis leaves to mourn his Son; Brandon, Granddaughter; Nikayla, Brothers; Henry (Susie) and Paul (Joyce), as well as many nieces and nephews. Thank you to the doctors and staff at the Fort St. John Hospital. A Celebration of Life will be held April 26th, 2019 at 11:00 am from the Fort St. John Royal Canadian Legion. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy can be made in memory of Dennis to the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation. https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/m/7310/donation EULOGY ~ Dennis Richter ~ Thank you to everyone for joining us in celebrating the life of Dennis Richter. Before we forget, we would like to thank, the Royal Canadian Legion for the use of the hall and to Pastor Dennis Jaycox for leading the service today. Here is a bit of his story… Dennis was born on June 14, 1956 to Anthony and Clarisse Richter in Edmonton Alberta. He was the youngest of three boys. When his older brothers went to help out at their Father’s farm, Dennis could always be found at his Aunt Frances’ house. He would go over there and play with his cousins Lisa and Debbie and drink pop. Dennis enjoyed hunting, fishing and camping with his family and friends. He never really ventured from Fort St. John. He was a loyal local boy who was humble in his surroundings. Throughout his life he held numerous jobs working as an oilfield operator @ Carnwood Wireline, a carpet clearer for Pomeroy Steam Cleaning, truck driver for Hillcreast Water Supply and also did janitorial duties at the Husky Carwash. For many years he was also a local volunteer firefighter and a member of the Antique Car Club and Royal Canadian Legion. His son Brandon, now 33, was born October 16, 1985. He would later welcome his beautiful granddaughter Nikayla, now age 10, into the world on September 7, 2008. Dennis enjoyed having his Nikayla over for sleepovers. She had her own room when Dennis owned his house and later when he moved into his apartment, she would sleepover in a children’s tent set up in the living room. Once Nikayla was too old for sleepovers, there was always the enjoyment of his grand-fur-baby, Brandon’s dog, Octavia. Whom Dennis enjoyed looking after while Brandon was out working. Dennis knew quickly how to win over Octavia by always treating her to a hotdog. Brandon was there for him right until the end. He made sure his Dad was taken care of including making sure he had as much cold iced tea as he wanted and as many licorice sticks as he could handle. I will now share with you a few words that Dennis’ brothers, Henry and Paul, wrote on behalf of themselves and their families. These a few of their fond memories … Henry and wife Susie, now married 37 years, wrote: Dennis enjoyed coming out to the farm to visit almost every Sunday. He would stay most of the day because he enjoyed playing with the kids as well as being able to tease them. Dennis was always interested in what everyone was doing and making sure that everyone was okay. Dennis was handy to have around and he enjoyed tinkering and working on small engines. Henry would be outside and Dennis would show up to give a helping hand whenever there was trouble with one of the machines. When we had family dinners, Dennis was often invited and he would always arrive with a smile and a big appetite. Dennis is survived by not only his family but his adoptive families and friends. Family was always so important to him. He always made time for us. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Paul and wife Joyce, now married 50 years, wrote: Dennis was a kind and caring brother, father and grandfather, who would always like to bug people in order to make them laugh or share his opinion about how to make the world a better place to live. He would sometimes join the “knowledge network”, which were a group of old wise men at the local coffee shop, who were a good source of important information. When Paul and Joyce moved to Summerland, Dennis always made sure to stay in touch by calling them every Saturday morning at 9:00am. He would ask Paul if Joyce was awake yet to make him breakfast because he wanted to smell the bacon, eggs and toast being made. He would fill us in on what was going on in town. He would also cut out news clippings from the local newspapers and mail them to us in a large envelope about once a month. He would always check in with us, to make sure that we had received it. We all enjoyed watching curling on TV - especially when we were in different time zones. Dennis would make sure to call and let us know the final score because he had watched it an hour earlier … but Joyce knew better. His nephew Jason is really going to miss his “coffee buddy” as he and Uncle Dennis would meet for coffee at least once or twice a week and enjoy a giggle or two. His niece Sherri always remembered how Uncle Dennis would tease her about wearing his straw hat (with the duct tape) and his plaid shorts to her graduation. He would say the duct tape was for proper ‘“air flow”. When he came over for dinner, he was always a joy to be around and had everyone laughing. His smile and sarcastic wit will be greatly missed but never forgotten. Moments like these were great because it kept us in touch and helped secure a bond between all of us and the family. We will truly miss Dennis, but know he has gone to a better place where there is no more pain or suffering and that he will be waiting for us when we join him. This day is about Dennis, and today we celebrate. Services Celebration of Life Friday April 26, 2019 11:00 AM Royal Canadian Legion Hall 10103 105 Ave Fort St. John, BC V1J 2M4