Paul "Buster”,"Red" Dickerson passed away peacefully Friday night at the VA Hospice in Louisville, Kentucky with his son Daniel at his side. Called "Buster" by his siblings, he was born in Garfield, Kentucky on June 21, 1927, and grew up the second son of a sharecropper during the Depression. His family moved to Louisville at the start of WWII. He entered boot camp at 16, and at 17 was one of the first men in the Dachau concentration camp as the 20th Armored Division rolled through and liberated it. The army experience was one of the highlights of his life. After serving four years, he left the Army as a Sergeant, returned to Louisville, bought a motorcycle, and started racing. He went to Chicago to learn auto body repair and opened Red's Body Shop in Louisville, working independently until he went to work for Perkin's Motors. He met a beautiful young woman, Joan Schoenbachler, and they married in 1950. They were married for 37 years, until her untimely death in 1988. Red never remarried, often stating, "... I've had the best, why would I want anything else?". He and Joan had six children of whom they were very proud. As members of the Boy Scouts, he and his boys won many trophies for their Pinewood and Soapbox Derby cars. Red was generous to a fault and quite a character. He had an inventive engineers mind, designing and building an auto louvering press, a space saver laundry unit, and a “Moon Ship”, a tricycle that preceded the “Big Wheel” illustrating his creative nature. Red always enjoyed playing poker, shooting craps, and sharing humorous stories. He was a lifelong member of the VFW and AmVets.
Red was preceded in death by his parents, Beulah (Triplett) Dickerson and Curtis R. Dickerson, brothers Robert and Carroll, and his beloved wife Joan. He is survived by his siblings, Louise Douglas, Joyce Byrne, and Ronald Dickerson; and his children, Paula Grayson (Paul), Rhonda Reynolds (Tony), Timothy (Suzanne), Daniel, Sandra Emberton (Mark), Laura Stengel (Scott), 10 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren, and his amazing home caregivers Donna, Chelsea, and Hayley. He left a wonderful legacy of loving, kind, talented, and generous children, grand and great grandchildren, a tribute to his amazing work ethic, love of family, and adventurous spirit. He will be sorely missed.
In stead of flowers, the family requests that memorials be sent to Donna's Assisted-Living, 3012 Boaires Lane, Louisville 40220. Due to significant health issues of the family and the CoVid pandemic, Visitation will be scheduled and limited to half hour intervals from 3-8pm, on Thursday September 24, 2020 at Arch L. Heady & Son Funeral Home-Okolona, 8519 Preston Hwy. Louisville Kentucky 40219. Call Dan or Paula to schedule a safe time to visit. A short graveside memorial service will be held at Calvary Cemetery on Friday, September 25, 2020 at 1100am, meeting at Arch L Heady-Okolona on Preston for the funeral procession at 10:15 am. In order to adhere to public health requirements, family members and friends are required to wear a mask and practice social distancing at all times during the services.
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