Richard Black

April 10, 1925 - May 22, 2015

Richard Ross Black, 90, passed away on May 22, 2015 at the Central Utah Veterans Care Center. He rejoined Patricia, his wife of 64 years who preceded him in death by 52 days. Richard was born on April 10, 1925 in Snowflake, Arizona to William Maxwell Black and Charlotte Killian Black who were the proprietors of a trading post on the Navajo Indian Reservation. Soon after his birth, the family moved and settled in Springville, Utah acclimating to small town life during the economic struggles of the depression. He joined the Army Air Force in 1943 on his 18th birthday and served honorably in the South Pacific Theater, whereby cementing his place in history as one of the greatest generation. Returning home he served an LDS mission to the Central States Mission and later enrolled in Brigham Young University. Richard married the love of his life Leah Patricia Gorton in the Salt Lake Temple in 1950. Short of graduating BYU he was accepted into dental school in Kansas City Missouri. After graduating he moved his family to Orem, Utah and practiced Dentistry for the next 39 years. Besides his dental practice, he purchased the struggling Miracle Bowl in Orem and with the partnership of his wife transformed it into a successful family run business. He loved nature and the land and tried his hand at ranching and farming in Mount Pleasant, Utah for a time. He enjoyed the company of friends, having a quick wit, often the center of attention and spending countless camping weekends with the dune buggy crowd. During his retirement years he and Pat built a home next to the golf course at the Star Valley Ranch in Thayne, Wyoming where he could indulge in his passion for gardening, golf and humoring the grandkids with his embellished sense of historical accuracy. It’s there on the ranch that he created lasting memories with the grandkids, sledding in winter behind the pickup and dune buggy chauffeur in the summer. In 2008, when the Wyoming winters became too harsh for an aging couple, he and Pat moved back to Orem and surrounded themselves with family. He is remembered as a man’s man where his word was his bond and a handshake was a binding contract. He was compassionate with sometimes a hard exterior but underneath a gentle soul. He loved life and lived it fully and at the end, sometimes a pancake surrounded by friends at Callie’s Cafe is better than anything. He is survived by his children, W. Michael Black of Orem, Kim B. (Todd) Olsen of Salem, Dorothy K. (Dan) Maryon of Draper and Richard G. (Linda) Black of Alpine; 15 grandchildren and 20 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, 9 siblings, two grandsons and two sons-in-law. Funeral services will be held at 12:00 noon on Saturday, May 30, 2015 at the Sunset Heights 6th Ward LDS Chapel, 500 South 600 West, Orem, Utah. Family and friends may pay their condolences starting at 10:00 am prior to the service at the same location. Military Honors and Interment services to be held in Timpanogos Memorial Gardens, 1000 N. 400 E., Orem. Funeral Directors: Utah Valley Mortuary.