Dan Richard Dudley

Dan Richard Dudley September 5, 1926 March 9, 2013 Dan Richard Dudley, beloved husband, father, and friend of many, left this earthly life and began his eternal life on March 9, 2013. A graveside service will be conducted by Reverends Stephen Ramsdell and Su Milam 10:30 a.m., Tuesday, March 12, at Oakwood Cemetery. There also will be a reception at 11:45 a.m. in the Chapel at First United Methodist Church. Richard was born in Waco on September 5, 1926, to Paul and Odell Hope Dudley. He attended Waco public schools and played football on the Waco High Tigers' district championship teams for two years. He was elected President of his 1944 graduating class and was pictured as a class "favorite" in the Daisy Chain annual. After graduating from high school, Richard enlisted in the Navy in the summer of 1944. He received an honorable discharge in 1946 and returned to Waco, where he enrolled in Baylor University. After earning BA and LLB degrees, Richard became a member of the State Bar of Texas and worked for the City of Waco as a tax attorney for a brief time. He was next employed by the Social Security Administration as a Field Examiner and later worked for the Veterans Affairs Regional Office as a Field Attorney. He retired in 1990. Richard joined First United Methodist Church in 1934 and remained active in the church all of his life. He met Doris Marlow there in 1946; they were married on May 26, 1951, and had two daughters, Dana and Amy. Richard loved music and had a very good bass voice. He and Doris sang in the choir at FUMC and were honored by the church when they retired from the choir after 58 years. After his retirement from the VA, Richard joined the Baylor University Senior Choir, known as the Baylor Singing Seniors. He developed a love of flowers from his mother and was an avid "iris" gardener. Richard's extensive library is a testimony to his love of reading, art, and history. He enjoyed playing tennis with friends for many years and did volunteer work for organizations such as AARP Tax Aid. He was a treasurer for the Odell Dudley Sunday School Class for nine years, assisting in the Fruit Cake Sale Project each fall. The class is named for Richard's mother, who taught the class for more than 40 years. Doris' mother taught them both to play bridge, and Richard and Doris had many years of pleasure playing duplicate bridge with friends, and also at Sul Ross Bridge Studio. They loved to travel, planning many trips and cruises for seniors at FUMC. Richard loved people and had a caring and loving personality. In 1985, Richard and Doris became part of a church-sharing group that met on Sunday evenings. The "twelve" became an important part of their lives. Richard looked forward to Tuesdays when his group of men friends ate out together. They called themselves "The ROMEOS" Retired Old Men Eating Out. Richard is survived by Doris, his wife for sixty-one years; two daughters, Dana and husband, Richard Johnson and Amy Hope Dudley, all of Plano; grandchildren, Mark Johnson and wife, Roxy, of Dallas, Jennifer Hope Johnson of New York, and Amy Johnson Emory and husband, Terri, of Conroe; great-grandchildren, Brooks and Annabel Emory; cousins Beth Appell of Waco, Rusty Sample and wife, Carole, of Garland, and Martha Len Griffin and husband, Elree, of Wylie; and four Marlow nieces: Melissa, Millie, Marsha, and Molly. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in Richard's memory be made to the Music Ministry of First United Methodist Church of Waco or to Baylor University's Singing Seniors. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in our Memorial Guestbook at www.WilkirsonHatchBailey.com.