Richard Stanton Paddock

1920 - 2004

Richard Stanton Paddock, 84, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, died Thursday, Dec. 16, 2004, at a local assisted-living residence.

Memorial service: noon Wednesday at Brown, Owens & Brumley's Joe B. Brown Memorial Chapel. Burial: Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery.

Memorials: The family suggests that memorials be made to the Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, Office of Development, International Shrine Headquarters, 2900 Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, Fla. 33607-1460.

Lt. Col. Paddock was born in Denver, Colo., April 4, 1920, and was raised in New Buffalo, Mich. He graduated from the high school there in 1937. He attended the Civilian Military and Training Camp (DMTC) program during his last two years of high school. Lt. Col. Paddock was an Army veteran of World War II and became a commissioned officer in 1942. He entered the Air Force during the Korean War.

After retirement from the Air Force in 1965, he was with the Missouri Division of Employment Security in Kansas City. He moved to Weatherford in 1987 and lived there for 17 years. He was a member of Central Christian Church in Weatherford.

He was a life member of the Masonic Lodge in Three Oaks, Mich., and a member of the Ararat Shrine Temple in Kansas City, Mo. He attended Texas Christian University and the University of Maryland.

As a youth, he developed a passion for fishing and upland game bird hunting. These remained his leisure interests throughout his life.

He was a gentle man who was extremely proud of his family and country. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Survivors: His wife, Freda, who celebrated 61 years of marriage with him Sept. 11, 2004, will remember him lovingly; children, Richard S. Paddock Jr. of Colorado Springs, Colo. and Marilyn Cantu and husband, Fred of Fort Worth; four grandchildren: and five great-grandchildren.