Richard Leo Squires

Richard Squires, referred to as “Dick” by his northern family and friends, was born on May 8, 1945 in Towanda, Pennsylvania. He was the second oldest of six children to Ruth Goodrich Squires and Leo Squires. Richard passed away peacefully at home on January 2, 2024 exactly a year after the development of serious health issues. Richard is survived by his wife, Kathleen “Kasha”, his children: Lesha (Wesley) Dalton, Richard “Burke” (Christine), and Taylor (Rachel), his 13 grandchildren, and his siblings, Mary (Bob) Getz, Julia “Julie”, and Paul along with his mother, Ruth.

As a youth, Richard loved working at the local junkyard with his Uncle Irving, sneaking into his mother’s kitchen to steal a slice of homemade pie, and driving his siblings to Sunday school.

Richard’s lifelong commitment to hard work started when he was just 13 years old when he began a paper route for The Daily Review in North Towanda with the help of his mother. He had fond memories of her helping him to pick up the papers and fold them. The impact of her strong work ethic left a lasting impression on him as he began his own work career, spending 5 years as a paperboy until he graduated from Towanda High School in 1964 and enlisted in the US Army.During his career with the Army, Richard was stationed at Ft. Jackson, South Carolina; Huntsville, Alabama; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and finally El Paso, Texas. While serving, Richard attended nuclear weapons school and was trained on one of the newest computer systems at the time. During his time in El Paso, Richard met the love of his life, Kasha Zawora, at a USO club in May of 1966. Just three months later, they married on August 13, 1966 in El Paso. Soon afterwards, the newlyweds moved to Coventry, Rhode Island as Richard was stationed there to work on a radar system.

A year later, the couple settled in San Antonio, Texas where Kasha’s family was living. While Richard considered reenlisting in the Army, his father-in-law, Edward Zawora, advised him to reconsider as he would have been sent to fight in Vietnam. Richard always had a deep respect and love for his in-laws and often went out of his way to assist his father-in-law until Edward’s passing at the age of 101.

Richard’s life centered around serving others. He did so through his work at Firestone and Goodyear, selling batteries and auto parts; running his own air filter company; selling cars; and doing home repairs and renovations through his handyman business. Richard always had a reputation for being hard working, honest, and friendly. When his daughter, Lesha, asked him in the days before his passing how he most wanted to be remembered, he said he wanted to be remembered for helping people out, and there is no doubt that he will.

Indeed, in his “time off”, Richard was still always helping people out, whether it was rescuing a man from a fire when Richard was in his early 20s, restoring classic cars for his children to drive, doing small home repairs for free to those in need, picking up bread weekly to deliver to the food pantry at St. Pius Catholic Church, changing someone’s oil, offering a smile and a joke to make a stranger’s day, or listening intently as his children and grandchildren shared their happy news. Richard’s primary concern was always how the other person was doing. Despite his last year being full of serious health issues, Richard never complained and always found a way to make conversations about others. His selflessness shone through!

While Richard spent countless hours working and helping others, he did find time to enjoy his hobbies. One of his earliest hobbies was hunting, which Richard enjoyed doing with his cousins. On one hunting trip in Pennsylvania, Richard scored a prize buck which he worked to have mounted and displayed in his San Antonio home. In later years, Richard enjoyed sharing a deer lease with his son-in-law, Wesley. His other hobbies included working on classic cars, following the Spurs, and enjoying a good Penn State game, but his all-time favorite hobby was supporting the Dallas Cowboys.

When asked what he was most proud of in life, Richard said it would have to be his children and grandchildren. When remembering their grandfather, Richard’s grandchildren use phrases like “never one to cut corners”, “doing work with integrity”, “friendly”, “selfless”, and “lived for others”. Richard’s wife would agree with all those descriptors, but her favorite things about him were his giving spirit, and his laugh which could be heard from rooms away. Their love as a couple ran deep, so much so that Richard believed that the best thing he did in his life was marrying Kasha.

We will all miss Richard’s laugh, his friendliness, and his deep selflessness. In his memory, we will gather to celebrate his life, and his impact on all of our lives, at St. Pius Catholic Church.

VISITATIONTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 20246:00 PMST. PIUS X CATHOLIC CHURCH

ROSARYTHURSDAY, FEBRUARY 01, 20247:00 PMST. PIUS X CATHOLIC CHURCH

MASSFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 02, 202412:30 PMST. PIUS X CATHOLIC CHURCH3303 URBAN CREST DR. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78209

Interment to follow at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

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