Richard "Dick" Tompkins, 70, of Sioux City, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, January 9, 2017 at Pearl Valley Rehab in Sutherland, IA. Services will be held 1:00 pm, Friday, January 12, 2017 at Waterbury Funeral Service of Sioux City. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery. Visitation will begin two hours prior to the service with family present, at the funeral home.
Dick was born on July 28, 1947 to Ralph "Curly" Tompkins and Darlene Bailey. In 1953, Curly married Audrey Bailey and she became "Mom" to Dick. The family lived in the Springdale area of Sioux City, where Dick fished, played baseball, swam in the old Floyd River Channel, and climbed many trees. He played little league and junior league baseball and then went on to play baseball, football, and basketball at Leeds High School where he graduated in 1965. He also played the trumpet in high school and later in a local band.
In 1964, Dick met his future wife, Delphene Blair. They were married on January 5, 1965 and just had their 53rd wedding anniversary together. Dick was an EMT and spent many years as a volunteer and an officer with Civil Defense. In his early years, he worked at Sioux Tool...[more]
then sold heavy construction equipment for 35 years, before retiring in 2012.
Dick and Delphene spent vacation times traveling to their favorite places; Grand Canyon, Estes Park, Yellowstone, and New Orleans. He was an avid Iowa Hawkeyes fan. Dick developed cancer and dementia, which eventually took away his spark.
Survivors include his wife of 53 years, Delphene; three sons, Brian (Monica) of Sioux City, Joel (Sherri) of Grand Junction, CO, and Marty (Renae) of Sergeant Bluff; eight grandchildren, Leticia, Amber, Brendan, Matthew, Wade, Alexandra, Aaron, and Lindsey; six great grandchildren; and siblings, Sandy (Mike) Hanlon, Terri (Ron) Beller, and Gary ( Dani) Tompkins, all of Sioux City.
Dick was preceded in death by his parents.
To read the full obituary, please click here: http://www.waterburyfuneralserviceinc.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=4534815&fh_id=12742