Richard Blaine Hayden was born June 13, 1926 to Omer Bland and Gusta B. Grundemeyer Hayden. He died Mar. 17, 2005 and is buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Elkhart, NE.
Richard served with the U.S. Navy in World War II aboard the USS Siboney (CVE-112) as a boiler tech, spending time in the South Pacific.
Son of Omer Bland Hayden and Gusta B Grundemeyer. Husband of Geraldine Jensen Hayden. Father of Robert Blaine Hayden, Susan Diane Hayden, and Richard Alan Hayden.
Obituary:
The funeral for Richard Hayden, 78, of Valley will be 2 p.m. Monday at St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Valley.
He died Thursday, March 17, 2005, at Methodist Hospital in Omaha.
He was born June 13, 1926, in Council Bluffs. He moved to Waterloo at the age of eight. He attended Waterloo Grade School and was a 1944 graduate of Waterloo High School. He served in the U.S. Navy for nearly two years during World War II, spending time in the South Pacific on the USS Siboney as a boiler tech. He returned to Waterloo and worked briefly at Valmont and then at Safeway Store in Benson.
He was employed by Melvin Bay at Fareway Stores in Webster City, Iowa in 1948, where he met Geraldine. He married Geraldine "Jerry" on Aug. 20, 1950, in Webster City.
The couple took over Red and White Store in Waterloo which later became Dick's IGA on June 23, 1952. He was involved in every aspect of the venture. He taught himself the butcher business, took care of the produce and dairy, did the ordering, and various other tasks.
The couple lived over the store for five years before moving to a house in 1960. They bought Valley IGA and operated both stores until 1965 when the Waterloo store was sold. The family moved to Valley in 1966.
They opened Dick's Hillrise Market in Elkhorn in 1980, and operated it and the Valley store. The Valley store was sold in 1981 and the Elkhorn store in 2003.
He was a member of St. Mark's Lutheran Church in Valley. He served on Waterloo and Valley Volunteer Fire and Rescue Departments for a number of years.
Survivors include: his wife; two sons, Bob (and wife, Cindy) Hayden and Rick (and wife, Laurie) Hayden, all of Valley; a daughter, Susie (Mrs. Mike) Sip of Elkhorn; a sister-in-law, Margaret Johansen; nine grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his first child.
The Rev. Clayton Skurdahl will officiate Monday's service. Visitation will be from 12-8 p.m. Sunday at Reichmuth Funeral Home in Elkhorn with family receiving friends from 4-8 p.m. Military honors will be given by Benson VFW 2503. Burial will be in Prospect Hill Cemetery in Elkhorn.
Source: ancestry.com
