Richard E. Darden

Richard E. Darden SUFFOLK - Richard Earl Darden, 52, of the 2800 block of S. Nansemond Drive, died Jan. 20, 2009, at the family farm in Murfreesboro, N.C. Mr. Darden was born in Portsmouth, a son of Joan Bundy Darden and the late Roy W. Darden. He was a member of Good News Baptist Church in Chesapeake and was retired as a nuclear machinist from Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He was a veteran of the United States Coast Guard. Left to cherish his memory are his wife, Denise Kimker Darden; his mother, Joan Bundy Darden of Elizabeth City; three daughters, Samantha Cushing and her husband George and their children Marissa and James of Gates, N.C., Kimberly Darden of Suffolk and Sarah Darden of Sidney, Australia; a sister, Dana Brown of Currituck, N.C.; and a brother, Roy W. Darden Jr. of Chesapeake. He is also survived by his stepmother, Sue Darden of Chesapeake; and stepsisters, Shirley Johnson of Chesapeake, Carolyn Carroll of Suffolk and Linda Albertson of Shawboro, N.C. A graveside celebration of life service will be conducted at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Darden family cemetery in Mapleton, N.C. The Rev. Mark Taylor will officiate. The family will receive friends in Garrett Funeral Home in Ahoskie, N.C., from 7 until 8:30 p.m. today. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial donations be made to the Darden Scholarship Fund, Wachovia Branch, 3114 Western Branch Blvd., Chesapeake, VA 23321. Friends and family may send condolences and sign the online guestbook by visiting www.garrettfh.com.