David William Richards

David William Richards, age 75, son to Donald William and Mary Louise Richards died on Sunday, March 16th, 2025. He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Michele “Mickey” Richards,and his 3 children Derek William Richards, Jodi (Joe) Angelo, and Penny (Tarron) Adams, as well as his sister, Judith (Gary) Tarr. He leaves behind 5 grandsons, who were his pride and joy: Dallas William Richards, Ryan Angelo, Dustin William Richards, Dylan Angelo, and Hunter Angelo, and his only granddaughter, the apple of his eye, Austyn Adams.

As a young boy growing up in Troy, Michigan, he had a deep love and compassion for nature and animals of all kinds. He often reminisced about riding his horse Dusty, down what is now known as 16 Mile Road. He helped with the raising and training of Collies that his family bred and learned a gentle way through their care-taking. As a teen, his love for the outdoors flourished into becoming an accomplished hunter and fisherman. He was often found on the weekends hunting small game with his beagle-mix, Jasper, a rogue and hardheaded hound, compared to his family’s pure bred Collies.

At 18, David was drafted into the army where he was stationed in Korea and received specialized high-clearance training in communications as a radio operator. He was shot in battle and earned a Purple Heart for his service. He returned to the States to marry Mickey, the love of his life, in 1969. He was employed by General Motors where he worked hard taking classes, earning his apprenticeship, and eventually his journeyman certificate in machine repair. David worked at General Motors in various locations, but finished his career at Pontiac East Assembly plant where he was accomplished in a specialized field of preventative maintenance as a vibrations analyst.

He loved to work out and started a gym in the plant where workers could work out on their lunch break. He often used his lunch break on overtime-Saturdays to catch a few minutes of his kids nearby indoor soccer games so that he wouldn’t miss a minute of the things going on in their life. Though he never played the game of soccer himself, he learned the rules and stepped up to be a parent-coach in the early years of their soccer careers. He could often be found sitting in his rust colored LazyBoy, making line-ups on a clipboard every Friday evening, or wrangling a team full of 10 year olds into the family van to treat them to McDonalds after a Saturday game.

David retired after 33 years of service to GM, and moved from his family’s home town in Lake Orion, Michigan to his little slice of heaven in the north…62 acres of hunting land in Northern Michigan. He diligently planned the construction of their dream retirement home, barn, metal /woodworking workshop, and hunting blinds/stands. He fed the wildlife every morning and night, watching them through the living room picture window. He would continually tell whomever would listen, how much he "loved living up here”! He couldn’t wait for each new hunting season to arrive so that his family would come up to visit and hunt together with him. He was an avid gun collector / dealer, and worked hard on fine tuning his woodworking skills to make one-of-a-kind, hand carved rifle stocks for all of those he loved most.

Those whom David William Richards loved, knew it with ALL OF THEIR HEARTS. “Big Dave" was never afraid to go all in to help those he cared about. He would give up his free time to help a friend out, helping to build many construction projects. His heart was bigger than most people were able to see…but if you were one of the few, there wasn’t a question about his love and support.

True to his low maintenance lifestyle and his desire not to be a burden on others, David’s wishes were to skip a funeral service and to instead be cremated. His family will hold a memorial service to spread his ashes at a later date. He will be truly missed, but his gift of providing sanctuary, protection, pride, and love to all of those he loved will live on as his legacy.

Arrangements entrusted to Sorenson-Lockwood Funeral Home.