Devoted father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother and uncle, Richard C. Blair, 86 of South Jordan, Utah. He fought a long battle after suffering a massive stroke in 2012. He passed away peacefully with three of his children by his side on April 30, 2020.
Richard was born in Salt Lake City, UT., to Thornton and Edith May Blair on Nov. 2, 1933. Richard graduated from West High School, Salt Lake City, UT in 1952. While in High School, he participated in ROTC. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Utah in 1956.
Richard married Janet May Schuma in 1953, later divorced. Together they had 4 children, Richard C. Blair, Jr. of El Paso, TX, Brenda Uffens (Greg) of St. George, UT, Kenny Blair (Adaire) of Farmington, UT, David Blair (Michelle) of South Jordan, UT. He is survived by 4 children, his best friend and brother Tom Blair (JoAnn), Salt Lake City, UT, and sister Ruth Case, Oregon; 13 grandchildren, and 23 Great Grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews. Preceded in death by parents, brother Don Blair, brother Kenneth Blair, sister Joyce Case, and son Bobby.
After graduation from the University of Utah, Richard was employed as a physical therapist at the VA hospital from 1957 to 1962.
His Civil Service Engineering career began as a Contracting Officer and Contract Negotiator for the U.S. Air Force, in 1962, retiring in 1987 from Hill Air Force Base. During his career at Hill AFB, he was stationed for 2 years in Taiwan, 3 years in Germany, and 2 years in Saudi Arabia.
After retiring from Hill AFB, worked for the State of Utah as an Economic development officer from 1987, retiring from this position in 2000.
Richard was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was an avid golfer, enjoyed skiing, camping, fishing, ballroom dancing, and traveling around the world. But above all, he loved his family.
We would like to extend a special thank you to the management and staff at Sagewood Assisted Living at Day Break for the kind and loving care they provided for our Dad.
We also want to give a heartfelt thank you to the caregivers at Good Shepherd Hospice, especially to the Cheerful Chaplain, Shantel McBride. She is the most caring, kind, and sharing person we have ever met. We are so fortunate to have had her in our Dad’s life.
A Memorial Service is scheduled for Friday, May 8th at Larkin Sunset Gardens; 1950 East 10600 South, Sandy, UT.
The family regrets, that due to the Covid 19 pandemic, the viewing, services, and interment are restricted to family members only. A Celebration of Life will be announced at a later date.
Please accept my sincere condolences. Remembering uncle Dick’s gentle soul and his wonderful sense of humor will forever remain in my heart. May he Rest in Peace!
I am so sorry for the passing of your dad and grandfather. Wishing you peace and comfort at this time of loss!
Dear Richard, Brenda, Kenny, David and families, me, Jessica and Justin want to send our heartfelt condolences and will be thinking of you all today. We were so sad to hear of uncle Dick’s passing. I am so grateful I saw him last summer when he invited me, mom, dad and Kori (David was there too) to a delicious buffet. He was in great spirits and was going from table to table socializing and singing with the other tables. He also gave us a tour and was ever so sweet. We will all miss him dearly. We send you our love.
Our Deepest Condolences to the families on the passing of Richard! Especially to his Children Whom He loved so much! Whenever he greeted my family & Me, he was warm & kind & had a great sense of Humor. We will miss him, A Gentle Man with a kind Soul. May His Soul Rest In Peace!
Sincerely, Mary Ellen, & Dtrs., Cathi, & Cheryl
I was saddened to learn of Richard’s passing. I came to know Richard not only as a wonderful neighbor, but also as a dear friend. I enjoyed our visits, his wonderful sense of humor, and the stories he told of his life. My sincere condolences to all of his family. He was a great man.
So sorry for your loss. Prayers to all of the family. 🙏🙏
Our sympathies for your family’s loss. He will always be remembered as happy go lucky guy always with a smile on his face.
Alan and Donna
Forty-six years ago (1973), the doorbell rang at Dick Blair’s house. He answered the door, and in front of him stood a skinny, long-haired kid in ratty jeans and barefoot, there to pick his daughter, Brenda, up for a date. I was that kid. He asked me where my shoes were ( I still hate shoes) and I said “in the car”. He said “oh, all right, come in”. He never flinched, where a lot of Dad’s wouldn’t have allowed it. When I asked him for Brenda’s hand in marriage and he knew I would be taking her away because I had joined the Navy, once again he never flinched -he could have, because we were oh so young. Although Brenda and I didn’t work out, two wonderful things came out of it for me-an amazing son, Nick, and the privilege of knowing Dick Blair. We loved telling each other the corniest, most stupid jokes and laughing hysterically. He never stopped loving me, and I never stopped loving him. My condolences to all the family…he was one of the best…
We are sorry for the loss of your father.
Sorry for your Loss.
Tom and JoAnn Blaire..our sincere condolences to you and your family.
Much Love to you all.
Dennis and Linda Weaver
It’s a sad day. I will miss him. I always enjoyed visiting him.
Even though we miss our loved ones, now they are in the house of our father dancing and singing praise. Our pain to see them will turn into joy one day when we to will arrive in the fathers house
My heart goes out to all of you. I've missed all of you since we last saw each other. I truly loved your dad and your family. I've always wondered how he was and how your family has been doing.