OBITUARY COLUMN
Our prayers surround the families of our loved ones now fully with our Lord.
Jesus said: Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. (John 14:27 NRSV)
May this unspeakable peace of Christ hold you and keep you.
Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church
3901 North Star Road
Richardson, Texas 75082
(972) 238-8103
This list is in order of the memorial service date, beginning with the most recent. You may press "view previous"/"view next" at the bottom of the list to scroll.
Mary Sue Hufft (1935 - 2025)
Sue Hufft went on to her eternal rewards on January 10, 2025, just before her 90th birthday. She was born to Edward and Mary Anderson on January 20, 1935, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. While attending Oklahoma State University where she earned her B.A. in Arts and Sciences, she met Allen Hufft, and they married on September 27, 1958. Allen’s career took them to Dallas where their daughter Cindy was born, and then to Jackson, Mississippi, where their son Craig was born. No matter where Allen’s work took them, Dallas was always “home.”
Sue’s children remember her always devoted to family and church. A longtime member of Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, she contributed her beautiful alto voice to the church choir, and she and Allen worked extensively to reorganize the choir’s music, even reprinting it in large type. As a member of the choir, Sue was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall.
Among Sue’s greatest joys was teaching preschoolers at Ridgeview Presbyterian Church. She was also a lifelong member of the P.E.O. (Philanthropic Educational Organization) Sisterhood.
When Allen retired, they also indulged in their love of world travel, encountering several remarkable situations: Tiananmen Square during the first days of those fateful demonstrations, and Berlin when the wall fell. They drove across the entire African continent, and in Red Square they traded a pair of blue jeans for a souvenir hammer-and-sickle watch—now Craig’s.
When Sue was ordained an elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, she wrote this eloquent statement of her faith:
I believe that sin is the self-destructive breaking of relationship of God and fellow man. We are human beings created in the image of God—sin distorts, twists, corrupts and contradicts this truth. We bring loneliness and alienation when we separate ourselves from God and our fellow man.
I believe that God has proved himself trustworthy by his powerful and living action in the world and in our lives to overcome and free us from sin by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Jesus was the Word of God, who not only spoke of the saving love of God but demonstrated it by living as the man with and for other men. In saving us, God gives us a worth we do not have otherwise.
I believe that God does not stop with forgiving our sins, loving and accepting us. He promises the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit to work in us, accompanying us every step of the way, enabling us to do what we could never do alone, helping us to achieve results we could never hope for if we were left to ourselves.
Sue is survived by her husband and children and was preceded in death by her brother Jon Anderson and her sister Nancy Anderson.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests gifts to the Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church Music Ministry.
Published on Thursday, January 30, 2025 @ 10:47 AM CDT
John Richard (1945 - 2025)
John Clement Richard died January 15, 2025 at Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Plano following a battle with a rare skin cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma. He was 79 years old.
John lived to fly. Born March 8, 1945 in Chester, Pennsylvania, he was the third child of Charles S. Richard and Juanita Ruth Keller Richard. Growing up in North Plainfield, New Jersey, he was the playful baby brother of Charles L. Richard and Beatrice Allen. He started flying in high school, joining the Civil Air Patrol and startling his sister when he flew low over their home.
After graduating from North Plainfield High School in 1963, John attended Wichita State University in Kansas, majoring in Economics. He graduated in 1967, earning his commission to the United States Air Force through the university’s Air Force ROTC program. John also earned a Master of Business Administration from Southern Illinois University in 1973, and he worked briefly as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch.
While in college, he met and married his wife, Kathryn Ann Richard (née Johnson). The couple were eventually blessed with two daughters, Christa Allison and Kimberly Elizabeth.
Following college, John began pilot training at Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, flying the T-37, T-38, T-41. He served in the Vietnam War from 1969 to 1970. While based at Da Nang Air Base, he flew the F-4E for 206 combat missions. Later, he flew the C-141 out of Maguire Air Force Base in New Jersey.
As an Air Force Academy Liaison Officer, John enjoyed working with aspiring pilots who were as passionate about flying as he was. He retired from the Air Force with the rank of Major after serving six years on active duty and fourteen years in the Air Force Reserves. During his military career, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with 9 Oak leaf clusters.
John’s commercial airline career began with Braniff International Airways, a job that would require the family to move from New Jersey to Dallas. He also flew for Orion Air (UPS) and American Trans Air (ATA), piloting the 727, L-1011, and 737. During Operation Desert Storm, ATA had a special contract to fly military personnel and John flew troops in and out of Saudia Arabia.
After retiring from the airlines in 2005, John became a simulator instructor at FlightSafety International, instructing pilots from around the world in the G-200 program for 19 years. While at FlightSafety, he was awarded the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award, an honor that recognizes pilots who have practiced safe flight operations continuously for 50 or more years during the course of their aviation careers.
Raised Lutheran, John was an active member of Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church. He loved the Voyager small group; the Sanctuary Choir, of which his daughter Kimberly is an active member; the pipe organ and helping his wife with the many church receptions she organized. He treasured Spring Park, his neighborhood, and was a block representative for decades. Many neighbors could count on seeing John jog and power-walk throughout Spring Park when he wasn’t flying. During the summer, he looked forward to grilling hamburgers at the neighborhood’s Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day cookouts. Every Sunday morning, he read the comics. His lifelong favorite was Peanuts, especially Snoopy as a World War I flying ace.
Although he logged thousands of hours of flying time around the world throughout his aviation career, John was not content to see the world only from the cockpit. He fearlessly drove his family on many European vacations and most recently embarked on several Viking cruises, enjoying gluhwein at the Christmas markets, seeing plays in London, and getting lost in countless medieval towns.
John is preceded in death by his parents; his nephew, Stephen Richard; and his sister-in-law, Carol Richard. He is survived by his wife of nearly 58 years; his daughters; his brother and sister; his brother-in-law, Douglas Allen; and his nieces and nephews, Debra Richard, Patricia Johnston, Charles Richard, Jr., Carri Medlin, Patrick Dunn, Aileen Dunn, and Diana Dunne and their spouses, children and grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church and the American Cancer Society.
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Published on Thursday, January 30, 2025 @ 10:41 AM CDT
Jim Jackson (1932-2024)
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James D. (Jim) Jackson was born to Z. Dwight and Rebecca Jackson on April 30, 1932, in Redstone Township, Pennsylvania. He passed away on November 5, 2024, in Rocky River, Ohio.
Jim met his wife Barbara on a blind date when his friend was dating Barbara’s roommate at Oberlin College. They were married in 1955 and were blessed with a son and two daughters.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Purdue University and Ohio State University respectively, followed by his MBA from Baldwin Wallace University. At Purdue, he was a radio announcer and a stagehand at Purdue’s Hall of Music.
His chemical engineering career included positions with Battelle Institute, TRW, and Sherwood Refractories. In 2016 he was named to the Investment Casting Institute Hall of Honor. He continued consulting internationally well into his 80s.
Jim was an accomplished amateur photographer and loved traveling – both family camping vacations and international business trips. Among his family’s most precious memories of Jim: His gift of a Steinway grand piano to Barbara in appreciation of her musical talents, along with recording her Music Club concerts. Documenting his children’s childhood with hours upon hours of video – not just big events but simple things like riding bikes and running through sprinklers. Their annual two-week camping trips to Rocky Mountain National Park when they were children. Skillfully taking care of any kind of household project for them well into his later years. His children also remember him for his honesty and integrity and never using profanity.
A longtime member of Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, Jim served as deacon and elder, a choir member (famous for hitting the very lowest notes), and a member of the Men’s Bible Study. He went on several CCPC mission trips and at age 87 joined the “In the Steps of Paul” tour in Greece and Turkey. Always generous with his time, talents, and resources, Jim served in many volunteer capacities and was a member of the Dallas Barbershop “Quartet.”
He is survived by his wife Barbara and his children David (Joan) Jackson, Sue (Chuck) Rozek, and Nancy (Paul) Davis, along with three grandchildren and seven great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents and his brothers Ray and Chuck Jackson.
Published on Tuesday, November 26, 2024 @ 10:13 AM CDT
Betty King (1932 - 2024)
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Betty, the only child of William Lee and Ruth Crosby Rudd, was born in Charlotte, North Carolina on October 19, 1932. She spent her childhood and high school years in Burlington, North Carolina.
In 1950 she celebrated two major events. She graduated high school and she married Benny Gray King, all within a week of each other. Their marriage lasted just two months short of 65 years due to Ben’s death. Their union produced four children: Kathryn, Benjamin, David and Virginia.
Betty moved to Irving, Texas in 1953 with Kathy, her firstborn and was a stay-at-home mom to raise her children while Ben was a pilot for American Airlines and the United States Navy. The family moved to Dallas in 1963.
She was inspired to further her education and graduated from Texas Women’s University in 1974 and earned a Master of Arts in 1976, also at TWU.
Her career was in music and drama. She was a singer and actor on a variety of stages. She appeared in three Oscar winning films in three years: Tender Mercies, Silkwood and Terms of Endearment. She also acted in commercials, industrial films, and community theatre productions.
Betty was a long-time member of the Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church where she served three terms as Deacon and one as an elder. She was in the sanctuary choir and active in prayer and healing ministries.
Betty is survived by three of her children – Kathryn Kremer, Benjamin King and Virginia Tinney, who gave her six grandchildren (Michael Kremer, Stephen Kremer, Karen Kremer, Joanna King, Jennifer King and Michelle Tinney) and seven great grandchildren (Timothy, Elizabeth, Olivia, Audrey, Hadley, Talia and Jackson). Also missing “Granny” are Christopher and Christian Tinney, Dean Tinney’s son and grandson.
The interment was at Restland Memorial Park on Monday, June 24, 2024. The Worship Service in Witness to the Resurrection will be at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church on Friday, August 30, 2024 at 2pm.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, the Salvation Army or any charity of your choice.
Betty's memorial page can be found here: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/dallas-tx/betty-king-11867552.
Published on Monday, August 26, 2024 @ 1:06 PM CDT
Michael Haer (1952 - 2024)
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So many words come to mind when thinking about the life of Michael (Mike) Haer, who died suddenly from a heart attack on August 6, in Richardson, TX, at age 71. A lawyer, an FBI special agent, a Chinese linguist, and a foreign service diplomat, he lived a life of public service and adventure.
Son of Earleen and Darrell Haer, both deceased, Mike was born in Fairfax, Mo., on September 28, 1952, and grew up in Gladstone, Mo. He married his Oak Park High School sweetheart, Debbie, who was the love of his life for 43 years. Mike earned a degree in education from the University of Missouri, Columbia, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity. He cherished his Phi Delt friendships—tales of ski adventures and Indy 500 trips are just a few of the memories that will live on in his “brothers.”
He received his Juris Doctorate from University of Missouri, Kansas City, and practiced law in Kansas City. His law degree quickly led him to one of his lifelong goals, and in 1982 he became an FBI special agent. Serving in the Kansas City, Houston, and Washington, D.C., offices, he worked in counterintelligence and on undercover assignments. While with the FBI, he attended language school, where he became fluent in Chinese and fell in love with the Monterey Coast.
Although he loved his work at the FBI, he yearned to work overseas—in 1989, he joined the U.S. Agency for International Development as a fraud investigator. His foreign service career took him overseas, and he lived in Singapore (where his twin sons were born), Thailand, and the Philippines. He traveled to nearly 100 countries; it’s no wonder that some characterized Mike’s life as a combination of Indiana Jones and James Bond! It’s doubtful, though, that they would have collected flight sickness bags from every exotic airline like he did.
A devoted brother, husband, and father, he loved his sons “to the moon and back.” After retiring from government service, he joined Texas Instruments in Dallas. It was in Dallas that Mike, an Eagle Scout, guided his sons and other scouts on the trail to Eagle. As adults, the boys continued to love hiking and camping with their dad, where they would often share craft beers and long talks around the campfire.
Mike was the rare person who was universally liked, and he will be sorely missed. He is survived by his loving wife, Debbie; his beloved twin sons, Nicholas and Alex (wife Melissa); and his sister, Dara White. Services will be held at Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, 3901 North Star Road, Richardson, TX, at 3 pm, Friday, September 13. For those wishing to make a memorial donation, the family suggests the National Park Foundation the Boy Scouts Circle 10 Council or your local scout troop.
Published on Monday, August 19, 2024 @ 3:14 PM CDT