Richard Farrell McCloughan was born August 8, 1947 to Sidney Lancroft McCloughan and Nellie (Alexander) McCloughan, at Sacred Heart Hospital, Lamar, Colorado. He passed away September 29, 2021, at St. Thomas Hospital in Murfreesboro, TN. He was 74 years of age.
Dick, as he preferred to be called, led the life of a typical, small-town boy. He rode his bike with his neighborhood friends to Boys’ Paradise on Willow Creek, where they spent hours playing on the banks of the creek and in Willow Creek Park. He spent a lot of time at the Lamar Carnegie Library; as well as Mr. Roy Gold’s house; just down the street from his home. Mr. Gold had oddities and collections of things that he had accumulated over the years. He loved recanting his stories to the neighborhood kids. Dick was also a Boy Scout. He graduated from Lamar High School with the Class of 1965, and left Lamar for California.
He joined the U.S. Navy and did a tour in Viet Nam. After his honorable discharge, he returned to Lamar for a short time. He interviewed for a job with the United States Department of State. With his military communications background, he was hired. It became his life’s career.
He traveled the world, setting up communications systems and working as a communications officer in American embassies; to include U.S. NATO in Brussels, Belgium, El Salvador, Venezuela, Cuba (during the Castro regime) Rome, Italy, Bangladesh, Tel Aviv, Israel and in Washington, D.C. He had many stories of his adventures with his travel and work. While in Europe, he met and married Jean Gibbons, who was also employed by the State Department.
He was a voracious reader. Every Stephen King and James Michener book is on his bookshelves. He loved building complex model airplanes, and setting them in dioramas. He spent weeks completing each of his very detailed displays. He was a history buff, especially the Civil War era. He also enjoyed genealogical research.
After retiring from the State Department, Dick and jean moved to Murfreesboro, TN to enjoy their retirement. He returned to Lamar for several high school class reunions. He was instrumental in design of the plaque and coordination of the ceremony honoring Mrs. Dixie Munro, one of his favorite LHS teachers. He was one of the speakers at the Plaque presentation.
Dick was a true American. He believed in God and Country. He was described by his fellow workers as a kind and considerate man. He and his stories will be missed. He is preceded in death by his parents, Stanley and Nellie McCloughan, his uncle John Alexander and cousin, John Alexander, as well as other relatives. He leaves his wife jean and many friends to mourn his passing. Donations may be made to the Lamar Public Library, 102 East Parmenter Street, Lamar, CO 81052 in his name.
He will be laid to rest at the Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, Nashville, Tennessee with full military honors on Wednesday, October 27, 2021
