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Name: Richard Lee Vanderford (Nickname = Rick)
Spouse: Benita I. Kilgore Vanderford
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DECEASED 2017,
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Email Address
Personal Website

Class of

1959 Attended from through

Graduated Here?

Yes   

If graduated elsewhere, graduated from:

College Attended:

     
Birthdate: July 2, 1941   
Date of Death: March 23, 2017  
       

Current Occupation:

 

Notes:

Richard L. Vanderford, 75, of rural South Whitley, died at 4:11 p.m. Thursday, March 23, 2017 at Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne where he was admitted earlier in the day.

He was born July 2, 1941 in Columbia City, Indiana a son of Roy Everett and Bernice (Kneller) Vanderford. His formative years were spent in Union Township and he attended Coesse School until his senior year transferring to Columbia City Joint High School.

On December 31, 1959 he was united in marriage to Benita I. Kilgore. They made their home in Columbia City for over eight years, moving to Union Township and later Columbia City for two years. Twenty years ago they moved to their home in Cleveland Township.

He was employed at Dana Corp. in Fort Wayne for 32 years, retiring in 1996.

His church membership was with Eberhard Lutheran Church. He loved fishing, woodworking, bulldozing, taking care of and spending time with the family.

Surviving relatives include his wife of 57 years, Benita; three children, Michael R. (Becki) Vanderford of South Whitley, Sue A. (Edward) Harber of Columbia City and Roy E. (Jody) Vanderford of Fort Wayne; six grandchildren, Kory Vanderford, Whitney Link, Kassie Vanderford, Kyle Vanderford, CeCe Chery and Tiffany Harber; five great grandchildren, Aden, Brenna, Emett, Wyatt and Rosie; three brothers and four sisters, Herb Vanderford of New Haven, Doris Swisher of Florida, Martha Vasquez of North Carolina, Tom Vanderford of Elkhart, Janice Dow of North Carolina, Carol Sue Dickson of Ohio and Randy Vanderford of Columbia City.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a great grandson, Kenneth.

The funeral service will be held at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at Smith & Sons Miller Chapel, South Whitley with visitation from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at a later date at Eberhard Cemetery.

Preferred memorials are to Myasthenia Gravis Foundation.

 
Last Updated: 03-25-2017 Alumni ID: 13439
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