Richard Leon McPherson, 70 of New Boston, Texas, passed away on July 24, 2025. He was born on August 15, 1954, in New Boston, Texas. He is the second son of the late Floyd and Jeanette McPherson.
Richard is also preceded in death by his beloved brother, Randall Clay McPherson.
He is survived by his children, Jesse, Kristie, and Sarah McPherson; grandchildren Joshua, McKenzie, and Berle McPherson, Matthew and Alex Hazelwood; and brothers Danny, Craig, and Keven McPherson.
A Memorial Service will be held on Friday, August 29, 2025, at 3:15 PM at the DFW National Memorial Cemetery, 2000 Mountain Creek Parkway, Dallas, TX 75211. Floral arrangements can be sent, but only a few can be accepted. All floral overflows must be removed after the ceremony.
In lieu of flowers, one can send donations to a charity that supports Cerebral Palsy.
Richard was only a couple of years old when the McPhersons moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, where their father started work at White Sands Missile Range. Richard used to follow Danny everywhere, and they learned many things together. Although they had no worries at this point in their young lives, they did develop a competition to see who could ride the tricycle first and the fastest.
A couple of years later, they moved to El Paso when their brother Randall Clay was born. Living there was much different from what they were in a much larger neighborhood. They became even closer as they learned to ride bikes together, and both had joined the Cub Scouts. A few years later, they moved back to New Boston, TX, for a couple of years. Here they were in the wide-open fields, riding up and down the road on their bikes, collecting empty bottles to turn in for penny candy. Although Grandma and Grandpa Hankins lived nearby, they weren’t allowed to go that far alone. Occasionally, Richard’s parents’ siblings would come by, and they would get to go visit the Grandparents. Once when Richard and Danny were at Grandpa McPherson’s farm, they went exploring. They came across a large wasp nest, and although Danny told him not to, Richard whacked it, and the yellowjackets came out madder than an old wet hen. They were both yelling from all the stings and ran as fast as they could to get away. Once back on the front porch, Danny looked back and saw no Richard. Danny felt bad for leaving Richard behind, but he was scared to death. Grandpa and Dad went to find Richard, and when they got him back to the porch, he was stung really badly. After treating Richard’s huge welts, Grandpa and Dad took a torch to the yellow jacket nest.
While visiting Grandpa Hankins’ farm, Richard and Danny would disappear for hours and return only when their bellies were hurting from all the mulberries, plums, and apples they had eaten. If the season was right, they would sneak into the barn and eat some of the peanuts that were drying. They both learned that eating green peanuts is not a pleasant experience.
During holidays, when at Grandpa’s farm, they would shoot off fireworks all day, and when the sun started going down, they would have Roman candle fights. Once, they caused a fire, but luckily, Uncle Glenn was there to put it out. That ended the Roman candle duels. Richard wasn’t into sports, so when Danny joined the Little League, he stayed home but would always be there to play catch with his brother.
The McPhersons moved back to El Paso into a larger home than before. They even had air conditioning, but it was an evaporative cooler, which worked well in the desert. Richard started making skateboards using old skates and was known to be the best on the block. This probably peeked his interest in surfing later in life.
Unfortunately, Grandpa McPherson developed cancer, and it had to be removed. Back then, that meant a more aggressive approach involving removing his arm and lung. When Grandpa got out of the hospital, we returned to New Boston to see him. He was staying at one of his son’s homes. All of our dads’ siblings (13) and their families were there. Early that evening, all the children were sent outside to play. That’s when Richard lost his front tooth while playing “hide and seek”. That puts a damper on things for a while. They stayed a few days and returned to Paso because Grandpa’s prognosis was good. The night they got home, they got a phone call saying Grandpa McPherson had passed. Although highly distraught, Dad got the car ready the next day for another 1,000-mile trip back to New Boston. They didn’t stop for anything except gas and food. Their Mom and Dad didn’t of their children to go to the funeral. But after much begging, they relented and allowed Danny to go. Richard and Randall Clay stayed home with an aunt from their mother’s side of the family. After the funeral, they returned again to El Paso as Dad had to get back to work and the children had to get back to school. Later that year, they traveled to Albuquerque to spend Thanksgiving with family, especially after losing such a beloved patriarch, and the nation was still mourning the loss of its president. However, some of the best times were when they went to the mountains of Albuquerque to get away from the heat of the summer or when they went to Ruidoso to pick apples. It was hard to believe how much cooler it was just a few thousand feet above the desert floor. Shortly after that, their brother Craig was born, and Richard and Danny’s babysitting duties had just doubled. A couple of years later, the fifth son of Floyd and Jeanette was born.
The family moved to Florida after their father was transferred to work for NASA. Initially living in Titusville, Florida, Richard and Danny resumed their closeness, becoming paperboys and riding around on Danny’s scooter. About a year later, they moved to Merritt Island, Florida, where Richard started Jr. High School. He started running with a different crowd, which led to him becoming a surfer dude with long hair and wearing Hang 10 trunks. His father didn’t like what was happening, so he provided them with weekend chores to keep them busy and earn a little money.
Richard always tried to live life to the fullest. After graduation, Richard joined the Army and served during the Vietnam War era, and was assigned to help guard the DMZ in Korea. He received an honorable discharge. Following his service, he went on to become a certified diesel mechanic and worked at Red River Army Depot.
Richard will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.