Don Richard Friend, Sr. (Dick), 83, left this world suddenly on August 24, 2017 in Guthrie, Oklahoma to be with his Lord and Savior.
Dick was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on December 22, 1933 to John L. and Ruth (Chaney) Friend, and his boyhood was spent in Oklahoma, Missouri, and California. He graduated from Guthrie High School in 1952 and from Langston University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. While in high school he married his sweetheart, Dorothea Lea (Dodi) Collins and they shared 54 years of love and adventure as they traveled the United States and raised six children.
To his great sadness Dodi passed away in 2005. He always told his family to remember their joyful reunion when his time came.
Dick was the patriarch of a large and loving family. He was father of Richard Jr. of San Marcos, Texas; Greta Friend Haas of Lynden, Washington; Erik and wife Valerie Friend of Grove, Oklahoma; and Ingrid Ghassempour, Kurt Friend, and Randi and husband Randal, all of Guthrie. He was very proud of all his fifteen grandchildren: Aaron (Amy) and Robin (Heather) Friend of Texas; Jesse (Tabara) and Luke (Kimberly) Haas of Washington; Jacob (Natalie) Haas of Massachusettes; Virginia Friend and Emily Friend of Montana, Annabelle (Daniel) Saunders, Sean, Adina, and Heidi Ghassempour, Holli (Cade) Johnson, Cody Norris, Hayli Norris, Christopher (Chantele) Norris, and Krista "Leo" Wegner, all of Oklahoma. He was also the adoring great-grandfather of five: Zachary, Milo, Gwendolyn, Summer and Scarlett.
Dick remarried Deanna Smith McLeod of Butte, Montana in 2009. They enjoyed traveling together to Washington, Montana, Texas, and Hawaii, and making a pleasant home in Guthrie where they enjoyed welcoming friends and family. Dick loved being the step-father and grandfather to all of Deanna's family too.
Besides his loving wife, Dodi, and his parents, Dick was proceeded in death by son Erik, granddaughter Emily, brothers Robert and Wesley, blood-brother Myron Peace, sisters Thelma, Helen, Rachel, Ruth, and Jeanne, in-laws Otto and Ida Collins, sister-in-law Vera Collins, and brothers-in-law Ronald Chambers and Bobby Ward. He is survived by brother John Friend, Jr. and sister Donna Ward of Guthrie, many neices, nephews, and cousins, including Robbie Friend of Guthrie, Kenny Friend of Oregon, sister-in-law Anita Chambers of Crescent, and Christina, Cody, Kenzie and Carley Stephenson of Wyoming.
After service in the National Guard, Dick had an adventurous and interesting career in federal law enforcement, working initially with US Border Patrol in El Paso and Eagle Pass, Texas; Chula Vista, California; and Lincoln and Houlton, Maine. He then transferred to US Customs and Immigration, working in Beaumont and Laredo, Texas and then in Blaine, Washington. His last assignment was in the then newly-formed DEA as Agent-in-Charge in Great Falls, Montana. He could never say enough about the gratitude he felt for having made so many dear life-long friends in the different places he lived. He retired in 1984, returning to Oklahoma where he and Dodi established their long-dreamed-of Prairie Rose Ranch east of Mulhall. They loved the peace and beauty of country life, and sharing that life with not only their family but with the varied and fascinating flora and fauna of the area. As age advanced, they came full-circle by moving into Guthrie in 1999.
As his far-flung career locations attest, Dick had a curious and adventurous spirit and loved to travel, often visiting family and close friends in Texas, the Ozarks of Missouri, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, California, and Washington. He especially loved being in the hills and mountains. He was an avid historian, geneologist, hunter, competitive marksman, ... and storyteller, as his family can all corroborate! His grand-children loved listening to the action-packed stories of "the old days" in the Border Patrol along the Rio Grande and in the snowy big woods of Maine.
Along with family geneology, Dick was especially interested in his Swedish and Eastern Band Cherokee roots, and he loved to weave the early progressions of his family into a lively narrative history. He also excelled in languages such as Spanish, Swedish, Dutch and German. He was an artist in his younger years, appreciated western and Native American art, and loved listening to a variety of music. He was a voracious reader and collector of books on history, culture, and Native America. But even with his inquisitive mind and his vast knowledge and life-experience, while enjoying his pipe and a small cerveza on the patio, he found peace and amazement under a twilight sky with the calls of the whip-poor-wills in the distance. Whether alone in the quiet or in easy conversation, this was always a favorite end to a day. Sometimes in later years, he would be overwhelmed by the beauty and magesty of nature and the love that overflowed in his heart, and, like his father used to say,
"I'm going back to the hills, sister."
Ahora, mi querido papa, vas con Dios a las montanas. Te veremos pronto en el cielo. Todos te queremos.
Funeral Services for Don Richard Friend (Dick), 83, of Guthrie, OK, will be held at 2:00 PM, Thursday, August 31, 2017 at Smith Memorial Chapel with Chaplin Mike DeMoss officiating. Interment will follow at Summit View Cemetery. Services are under the direction of Smith-Gallo Funeral Home,Guthrie.
Visitation will be held Wednesday, 5:00 PM-8:00 PM
Friends may sign the online guestbook