Mr. Richard "Red Beard" Leroy Ealey, 67, of Taylorville, Illinois, peacefully received his transfer papers to Heaven on February 17, 2018.

He was born to Pearl Dillion and the late William Ealey on January 30, 1951. He was preceded in death by his brother William Taylor "Tate" Ealey. He served his country in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War in 1971, with specialized training as a Military Working Dog Handler, assigned to the 1st Bn 60th Arty Bde, in Porter Indiana. He loved training and working with his military working dog, Shadow. He worked for 20 years at Prairie Wholesale Supply Co. as the Warehouse Foreman. Outside of work Rich was an avid Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Blues fan; he loved bragging about his son-in-law's artwork displayed throughout the globe.

Richard is survived by his daughters, Christy (Jason) Livery and Michelle Ealey and their mother, Carol Weaver; grandchildren, Corey (Samantha) Griffin, Britnee (Christopher) Brittingham and Loren Ealey; great-grandchildren, Adella Griffin, Mckynze Dobbs, Aleigha Griffin, Destinee Griffin, and Rylan Brittingham; siblings, Carolyn Brachear and Beverly Freitag, niece; Sheri (Tracey) Peters; and nephew; Michael Brachear along with many more nieces, nephews and loving friends.

Richard had a passion for making others laugh, being the life of the party, fishing, and playing "Gramps" with his grandkids. He was a faithful member of the BYO Church in Riverton. He lived a full and happy life, and we are honored to celebrate the dash between the day he entered this world and the day he left it.