Richard was born May 9, 1943 in Gorochevski, Ukraine, he lived in Dushanbe until he and his family settled in Calgary in 1975. While in Dushanbe Richard joined the army and learned how to operate heavy machinery. It was here that Richard met Rosa and the Kafer family. He and Rosa celebrated their marriage in the Kafer family yard on April 19, 1969. They were blessed with the arrival of daughter Lili the following year. The birth of their son Leonhard followed two years later. With the assistance of the Kirsch family, the Kafer family immigrated to Canada and two and a half years later Richard, Rosa, Lili and Leonhard followed, making Calgary their home. Once settled in Calgary Richard had numerous laboring jobs, which set him on the path towards becoming certified as a heavy-duty mechanic. Richard worked as a tradesman until retiring from the City of Calgary in 2001.
He loved to spend time tinkering with cars and other mechanical interests. Richard fiercely loved his family and was very excited about the soon arrival of his first great-grandchild, a little girl expected to arrive in early March. The love, time and dedication he poured into each one of us makes certain that his character runs thick and deep in all of us. This is seen in our work ethic, our love and devotion to family.
Richard is survived by his loving dedicated wife Rosa and mother-in-law Elizabeth Kafer, his daughter Lili (Dave) Cochrane, his son Leonhard (Cori) Braun; five grandchildren, Justin(Crystal), Melissa, and Brandon Cochrane, Vanessa and Dylan Braun (all of Calgary); excitedly expected great-granddaughter Cochrane; brothers Adolf (Marta) Braun, Leopold Braun, Reinhold (Lydia) Braun; sister Rita (Ernst) Herter all of Wolfsburg, Germany; Lydia(Werner) Bienz, Kate Schwarz, Willie (Sandy) Kafer and Liz (Mike) Keim and several nieces and nephews; and lastly by his fur grandbabies; Shadow, Lucky, Zöe, Bodhi and Otis. He was preceded in death by his parents, August and Meta Braun, and father-in-law August Kafer.
A Funeral service will be held at Foster’s Garden Chapel, 3220-4 Street NW, Calgary, AB on Friday, February 23, 2018 at 2:00 p.m., with a viewing for 1 hour prior to service. Interment will follow at Queen’s Park Cemetery, 3219 4 St NW, Calgary, AB (across from the funeral home). Relatives and friends are welcome to share expressions of sympathy to the family via the website www.fostersgardenchapel.ca
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