Richard James "Rich" Elder

Richard James "Rich" Elder, 65, Caddo Mills TX passed away on November 8, 2025 at home surrounded by his family.

Rich was born April 13, 1960 in Mobridge, SD to James Frances Elder and Patricia Darlene Elder (Kinney). Rich grew up in Southern New Jersey where he eventually met and married Lori Rae Faust on November 13, 1999 in St. Lucia. They had 1 daughter, Morgan Rae Elder. The family moved to Texas in 2003.

Rich owned and operated RELM Transportation as a 1 man trucking company. He was leased on to work for New Waverly Transportation out of Nashville, TN. Rich loved to drive flat bed and was proud of always making his deliveries on time or ahead of schedule. There was never a load Rich could not handle. He was passionate about driving his truck and could sit behind that wheel for days. He always said the view from his ''office window'' changed with every mile. Prior to owning his truck and trailer, Rich worked for various other trucking companies in New Jersey and Texas. Rich was also a retired police officer from the Port Authority Transit Company (PATCO) in Camden, NJ.

When Rich was not driving, he enjoyed being at home on his family's ranch where he had 6 horses, 6 dogs, amongst an abundance of chickens and several barn cats. Rich loved sitting on his back porch watching all his animals, working around the ranch and riding his horses, Forrest and Bobby Roo. Rich and his daughter enjoyed competing in rodeos where they met many wonderful people. He always said ''horse'' people are the best friends to have.

Rich loved to travel with his family and always talked about the many trips he took with his father when he was young. He told many stories of the summers he spent in Maine as a young boy at the Flying Moose Lodge camp. Rich also enjoyed skiing, scuba diving for lobsters and deep-sea fishing. He was also the main cook at the annual ''friends and family'' Crawl Fish boil.

Rich is survived by his wife, Lori Elder; daughter, Morgan Elder; Future son-in-law, Tyler Davis; grandson Southern Davis; parents, James and Patricia Elder; brothers, David Elder (wife Robin Elder), Eric Elder (wife Amy Elder); Father-in-law, Ralph Faust; Sister-in-law, Marsha Magauran (Faust) (husband Edward Magauran) and several nieces, nephews and cousins.

He is preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents, aunt and uncle.

A Celebration of Rich's Life will be held Saturday, November 22, 2025 @ high noon (12pm) at his family ranch in Caddo Mills, Texas with Mr. Jordan Dazey.