Richard Markley

1938 - 2023

Markley, Richard
Dick
08/26/1938 - 3/9/2023

Richard D. Markley of Broomfield, CO, died on March 9, 2023 after a long battle with Parkinson's and the accompanying Lewy-Body Dementia. Dick was born on August 26, 1938 to Claude and Dorothy Markley in Bennington, KS. He was a graduate of KSU with an Electrical Engineering degree and worked for Westinghouse Electrical Corporation, advancing to Marketing Manager in airport systems, and was leader of the crew that installed most of the original runway lighting at DIA. He later began his own company, CD3 Equipment Co., where he specialized in airport runway lighting.
Dick became involved in the developmental disabilities community early in his adult life. He helped make the lives of literally thousands of people better over those years, but especially through his work with DDRC (Development Disabilities Resource Center), based in Jefferson County, CO. He was instrumental in getting both the Margaret Walters and the Robert Weiland schools built, specifically for the DD community. Dick was on the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council, on the Summit Center board, and he worked with the Jefferson Center for Mental Health. Dick was invited to the White House to watch President George H.W. Bush sign the Americans with Disabilities Act, he testified before the Colorado Legislature and attended countless sessions and committee meetings there to advocate for the developmentally disabled. Dick was a fine and accomplished man.
Dick is survived by his wife Candy, his son Keith with his husband Bob, his brother Tom with his wife Wanda, his brother Dean with his wife Wendy, his sister Marilyn with her husband Clint, his stepdaughter Wendy, with her husband Pete, three granddaughters, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his first wife Marilyn and son Matthew.
Dick's cremains will be interred in the Bennington, Kansas cemetery on Saturday, May 6, 2023 at 11:00. It will be a very casual gathering.