Richard F. Blalock

Richard Franklin Blalock, of St. Peters, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, September 27, 2018, after more than a century of life before and after his birth on January 30, 1919.

Beloved husband of Lorraine R. Blalock; cherished son of the late Ethridge and Mineola (Holcomb) Blalock; devoted father of Richard W. (Lorraine) Blalock, Sr., Patricia (the late Mike) Schwab, and James Blalock; loving grandfather of Jenessa (Ricky) Legaspi, Richard W. (Cyndi) Blalock, Jr., Karen (Tony) Winkler, and John (Laura) Schwab; great-grandfather of Liam and Ryan Legaspi, Caroline Blalock, Jacob and Olivia Winkler; dear brother of the late Eleanor (Thomas)Wiley, Opal (Robert) Sager, Elora (Lemuel) King, and Gladys (Jack) Wylie.

Richard proudly served his country in World War II with the US Marine Corps, enlisting on December 8, 1941. He served as a technical sergeant, aviation mechanic and crew chief and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa under Commanding General Ross E. Rowell. He was honorably discharged following the war in December 1945.

After his discharge, he was employed by McDonnell Aircraft Co. and worked there for 35 years. During that time, he worked on fighter aircraft manufactured by the company and in the company's space program on the Mercury and Gemini spacecrafts.

He was a loving husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, brother, brother-in-law, neighbor and friend to many. Richard was a very generous man with a heart of gold. He was deeply loved and will be missed by all who knew him.

Richard was a member of the Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church and served the Harvester Christian Church's Food Pantry for years. In lieu of flowers or other memorials he would have asked you to consider those less fortunate among us and helping by donating to the Harvester Christian Food Pantry or the food pantry of your choice.