August 19, 2019

Robert “Bob” Henry Dingus

08-27-1927 to 08-15-2019

Robert “Bob” Henry Dingus, 91, of Richmond, Mo., passed away on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, of excessive good looks. He had endured this condition for most of his adult life.

He was born in Pleasanton, Kan., on Aug. 27, 1927, to the late Greg and Frances Dingus.  Robert graduated from high school in Pleasanton in 1945.

He was drafted into the U.S. Army on his 18th birthday, in 1945, and served in South Korea until his discharge in 1947.

He married the late Albert Jean Ray on Oct. 22, 1949.

Robert was preceded in death by his wife of 63 years, Alberta Jean Ray, of Green Ridge, Mo., and his parents, Gregory A. Dingus and Frances Paginton Dingus. Robert had one brother, Leslie Melvin Dingus, who died at birth in 1922, and one sister, Theora Ellen Dingus-Van Dyke, who passed away in 1993.

Survivors include his children, Kathy Ellen Green of Garland, Texas, Lyle Robert Dingus and wife Sandra of Philomont, Va., Peggy Jean Hack and husband George of Richmond, Mo., Judy Ann Reynolds of Hudson, Fla., and Jerry Ray Dingus of Newport News, Va. There are seven grandchildren: Lori Jean Blankenship of Independence, Mo, Jessica Anne Roberts of San Diego, Calif., Kathleen Grace McCune of Sunnyvale, Calif., Kirby Ray Reynolds of Goose Creek, S.C., Riley James Reynolds of Miami, Fla., Jaimie Eileen Dingus of Cambridge, Mass., and Jerry Ray Dingus Jr. of Yorktown, Va. Robert is survived by four great grandchildren: Tristan Sylvester Pugh of Blue Springs, Mo., Dane Michael Blankenship of Independence, Mo., and Adeline Grace McCune and Lillian Anne McCune, both of Sunnyvale.

Robert was a member of the United Christian Presbyterian Church of Richmond. He was also a member of the Richmond Masonic Lodge, the Ararat Shrine Club, the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. Robert retired from Missouri Public Service in 1982, after 27 years. He was also active in the community, spending many years on the Richmond City Council after his retirement from MoPub.

Robert grew up in the Great Depression and was among the last of the young men to be drafted in World War II.  As with all of his generation, these two great events shaped his outlook on life. His greatest pleasures in life were his marriage to Jean Ray, which lasted over 63 years, and the family that they raised together. Their children would all like to acknowledge their parents for being such loving, honest, hard working role models. Bob, who never took himself too seriously, had as one of his favorite sayings, “I wish I had been born rich, instead of so damn good looking.”

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions be made to either the Shriners Hospitals for Children or the Richmond United Christian Presbyterian Church. They can be left at or mailed to Thurman Funeral Home, 507 East Main Street, P.O. Box 190, Richmond, Mo., 64085.

Visitation and funeral services were scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2019, at the United Christian Presbyterian Church in Richmond, with visitation beginning at 10 a.m., funeral services to follow at 11 a.m., and a Masonic service held prior to visitation at 9:45 a.m. Military Honors were to be provided by the Ray County Veterans with burial in Richmond Memory Gardens.

Please share your memories of Bob by visiting www.thurmanfuneralhome.com.