(1938-2022)
Richard Binkert was born to Eleanor and John Binkert. He started working at the
early age of 8, delivering newspapers on his bicycle in his LA neighborhood. He
worked as a youngster at his grandfather’s grocery store. As a teenager, he worked at a gas station, where he decided he wanted a ’55 T-Bird. He bought one in ’57 and kept it all his life.
He earned an AA degree in architecture at Los Angeles City College. He worked as a design draftsman at
Cape Canaveral (Now know as Cape Kennedy). Richard became a real estate
broker/salesman and started a real estate company. He became a licensed
contractor building many projects from condominiums to large estate homes to
retirement facilities.
He loved to travel. They went on a photographic safari to Kenya East Africa where they survived their safari bus going off the cliff above Rift Valley outside of Nairobi. From there he extended his trip to include Egypt, where they toured King Tut's tomb and he climbed a great pyramid. They also travel to China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Bangkok. He also traveled to various destinations in Europe, Hawaii, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
He was always described as a kind man and a gentleman. He was friendly and
outgoing with a very good sense of humor.
After being diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, he learned that his
grandmother and cousin also had Parkinson’s Disease.
He met his wife Marcia in the parking lot at Ryan Aeronautical, where they both worked. They had been
married for 51 years.
When he was asked what he was proudest of in his life, his answer was “his
family”. Richard had a daughter Deborah, and three sons Kevin, Brian, (daughter in law, Tawny), and David. He has 4 grandchildren, Carly, Billy, Jax, and Nixon. We will remember him with love and will miss him always.
