Hard to believe you have been gone 8 years today.  Miss you everyday!

'Happy Birthday Dad! Miss you every day!'

'Many years ago when I worked at Jud Plumbing I was sent to repair a leaking roof at Richard's house. I remember telling my wife that I worked for a very nice man that day. Richard was so well respected in the industry.'

'We at MEPCO were saddened to hear of Richard's passing. He was a good man and a great businessman.

'I am sorry to learn of Richard's passing. He was a good man. I pray for peace and comfort for grieving friends and family.'

'I was saddened to hear about Richard's passing. He was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. His input was always helpful. Your family is in my prayers.'

'I am so sorry for you loss. Blessings for peace and healing.'

'Richard, you were more then an employer to me, you were a mentor and a very wise man that I looked up to. We spent close to 3000 hours together side by side in the office over the past seven years and I will cherish every one of them I will never forget you . Thanks for all that you did.'

'This sad old world will lose some of its light without you old friend. We were great pals 50 years ago - you were an awesome friend, and an inspiration in thinking of things in positive, new and creative ways. We were still wet behind the ears high schoolers when we began the discovery of the big world as adults hanging around together, and many of the things we learned and shared way back then have served me well through all the long years of this life. Godspeed Richard, the Lord is with you Always and Everywhere, will look forward to when we meet again.'

'Richard was an incredible man, and I am blessed to have been employed by him right after my graduation from high school in 1980. I was a frightened teenager moving into the business world, and Richard always had a way of creating a light & easy atmosphere for the entire office, which helped with my transition into the workforce. I will be forever grateful for his kindness, giving heart, and words of wisdom. Memories that will be treasured forever!! You will be missed by all.'

'Uncle Richard, Seeing this messages and your picture makes this so real. You were always so much fun to be around. You made us laugh and taught us many things. I will never forget how you were SO funny and made light of everything that happened. You always had us laughing. The cruise and the laser pointer sticks out in my mind. You thought that was so funny and so did we! I am grateful that I grew up next to such a neat uncle. You will be very missed!

'Richard was a man of integrity with knowledge that could be relied on in the construction industry. We will miss him.

'No question, the news about Richard has weighed heavily on me. I will miss him. He was one of those charming individuals that lit up the room when he entered. He was a wonderful communicator and a teacher to all. I valued his friendship. I send my condolences to all the family members. 
Bryan Mayo'

'Jo Lynn and Family, 
I am so sorry for your (and my) loss. I have known Richard since the early '80's, through Kiwanis and Governors Club. He was always fun and witty...we will miss him. 
I know what you are experiencing...I lost my spouse in 2007. I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers.'

'Richard, may God bless you in your departure. You were a loyal and true friend. We cherish the occasions that brought us together; Gov. Club, business and family friendships. You will be missed greatly. We fully intended to accommodate your invitation to visit you at your new ranch and we wish now that we had put a high priority on that occasion that did not take place. 
Jo Lynn may God give you and your family special strength and understanding to weather this storm of loss. We love you, Ron & Sheila'

'We are so sad to hear about Richard's passing He was such an incredible man. We were blessed having known him. He was a sincere, happy, funny, endearing man who cared so much for his family as well as his friends. I don't think there was a time that we spent together that he did not have a smile on his face; sometimes more mischievous than others. We will always cherish our time spent together as a couple as well as the guys getting together for the annual dove hunt - or more recently the wild pig "hunt" on the ranch. We are so thankful to have had Richard (and your family)in our lives over the years. 
Thanks for sharing with us! 
Love, Brenda and Ed'

'Don't know why, as teenagers some of us just started taking stuff apart and putting it back together. Almost like that's what we HAD to do. Mechanical stuff had to be figured out. About the most interesting thing, solving problems and figuring out ways to do something mechanical. A motor could make things go. After pedaling a bike up and down hills as a little kid, a motor sounded like some magic propulsion thing. 

Richard, remember? You cooked up a little kids bicycle frame with 2 go cart wheels, mounted the lawn mower engine where the sprocket used to be, and it worked! So cool no brakes who needs to stop, a piece of string for the throttle, but it would GO. There was some wrecks on it here and there, sure, but it was a damn fun home built mini-bike. Laughed our a**** off riding that thing. Any lawyer today would retire off the damages off of that thing. 

I started reading about Model A motors, learned that Ford made em so people could just rebuild them out in the yard. Back in the 20's there wasn't a lot of garages around. 

That was before we were even driving, I think, or some were just starting to get their license. 
Opened the Yellow Pages, called around San Antonio and found dead Model A motor for $20 in a junk yard, got it home some way. 

Think that may have been first introduction to junk yards THAT was a discovery. Once you've been on a treasure hunt in one junk yard, you want to hunt them ALL. It was the Google of auto parts cheap. 
Spent a few months taking that Model A motor all apart. So cool how everything worked those guys made a gas engine so simple. Later, Kelly's dad bought a kind or boring cool Model A stock classic. We finished rebuilding that motor in my garage and stuck it in his dad's car. 35 miles an hour top speed, just checked online and found out it had 28 horsepower. That wasn't much to mess with, we wanted to go fast. 
Wasn't any grass growing under us as teenagers though we never stopped moving, far as I remember. Always doing, going, taking something apart, fixing, building, working on yours or mine or Barneys. Going to the machine shop, figuring it out. 

Don't know if kids learn a lot on video games and stuff these days - but we figured out amazing stuff a lot by getting hands on a machine and taking it into all its pieces. 

Once we discovered junk yards, they were about like going to the Land of Oz, freaking unbelievable machinery saw the glory days of the automobile, cars and bodies from the 20's, 30's and 40's. 
INTERNAL COMBUSTION WAS THE KILLER APP right before we came along. We came along about the time Detroit was starting to die, but the all those car bodies from the Glory Days were still in the junk yards then. Don't think the crusher had been invented. 

Richard, you already mentioned that engine we liberated from a junk yard on the south side with 7 guys to pick it up. 

The other crazy bit I remember was the stuff we somehow drug home to my father's house. 
We got a whole vehicle at a junk yard, think it was an early 50s Ford, that had a dead engine. We towed it up the driveway at my house some way. 

First we decided we'd remove that body, and get it down to the frame. We did that with axes and hammers. We weren't supporting a full shop on that 65 cents an hour Snow White pay. Go with what you got. Right. It's possible that we had Finney or somebody come over with a torch to cut some parts off. 
When we got done we had something that looked about like this, much to my Dad's joy. I think we were 17 then. 

Hadn't worked on the dead motor yet, but we had a start on SOMEthing. Your brother had built that sedan, somehow that was an inspiration. 

So then we were cruzing junk yards all around San Antonio looking for a body to put on this rat rod that was so cool. There were a lot of junk yards, some out by Randolph AFB, most on the south and west sides every one of em was a Disneyland of dead cars and parts. We'd go all the time, pretty much every chance we got. 

On one magical trip we discovered the coolest Volkswagon bus body waisting away back there. It didn't have a an engine. LIGHT BULB let's bring that VW bus home and mount it on the Ford frame!!!! Wow, GREAT idea. Right. We had one big thing that had frame, motor and wheels, and now another big thing that we could just put on top! Oh man, this is brilliant! Right. 

Some other how, we got that VW bus body home and piled it in the driveway behind the Ford frame. 
It looked about like this, can't remember if it had wheels or not who cares? We already have some. 

BEAUTY, EH? 
How cool is that, there are even little windows to look up at the sky with. 

In checking out the options for mounting this thing on the Ford, we realized that the Ford had a dash and steering wheel a few feet behind the front wheels, while the V-Dub was meant to have the driver right at the very front. Well, that wasn't gonna work, cause the engine is up there on the Ford. 

OK here's where the Einstein part comes in: 
LETS MOUNT THE BUS ON THE FRAME BACKWARDS!!! That's where the engine compartment was on the bus anyways, and how cool would THAT be, to drive backwards all the time, when you're really going frontwards!!! 

Oh yeah, we howled over that plan for a while. That was it, that's what we're gonna do!!!! 
The rest of the story: that Ford engine was so seized up, the pistons were totally rusted to the cylinder walls. We tried a sledge hammer to get em out, no go. There was no hope for that motor. Zero. 
There was no hope for any of it. No motor, no way to mount that big cool bus, no money and no answers. 
Still have to apologize to my Dad again when I get to heaven, it took some months before we managed to drag all that crap back out of there. Can you guess where it all went? 

Still love junk yards if I could have I would have bought one sometime. For a motor head, they're like a Smithsonian of mechanical engineering. Motorhead archaeology. 

I did know one guy out in the mountains of California. He had a garage and a couple of tow trucks, and the AAA contract. He spent about 30 years hauling dead cars up onto 60 acres he had said that was his retirement. Bet he's loving all that treasure he horded now the guy's RICH! Well, in junk anyway. One man's trash is another man's treasure.'

'You will always be in our thoughts and prayers. Thanks for everything you have done for me and my family over the past 32 years we have known you.'

'Deepest condolences to the family of Richard. Always composed, looking at the bright side of life, and loyal to his family - he will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Rest in peace, Richard.'

'You will be truly missed, but, never forgotton. I am gratefull for the time we spent together and the memories you made with Connor and Carson.

'I don't know why some things happen but your love and beautiful memories will outlast the pain of grief. 
Your love will live always in my heart and you will never be forgotten. 
I Love You So Much, 
Jo Lynn'

'Dad, you have been such a great teacher of life and you will be greatly missed. Thank you for everything you have done for your family. We will benefit from your wise decisions for decades to come. Love Always, your son Rick'

'Dad, 
I think of you often, and always with love. I think about how hard you have worked and how much you have done for our family. I remember the things you have taught me and the times you encouraged me. I see how your wisdom and caring have helped shape my life. I look back on favorite memories that remind me how much we have always meant to each other and always will. I am so thankful and proud that you are my father.

OBITUARY

Richard Charles Powell

28 July, 1944 – 22 April, 2015

Porter Loring Mortuary - McCullough

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