Rick Held

Rick Held, 74, Minot

died on Monday, May 10,

2021 in his home with his

loving family by his side.

Rickey Lloyd Held was

born on August 2, 1946 in

St. Louis, MO to Herschel

and Donna (Davis) Held.

He was raised in Barnhart,

MO; attended school in

Crystal City, MO where

he was a member of the

football and basketball

teams. He graduated from

Crystal City High School

in 1964.

Rick married Roberta

“Ro” Richards, his high

school sweetheart, on Au-

gust 20, 1966 at the First

United Methodist Church

in Festus, MO. Rick en-

listed in the Air Force in

January of 1966. They

made their home at vari-

ous air force bases includ-ing Davis-Monthan AFB

in Tucson, AZ and

Wheeler AFB in Honolu-

lu, HI prior to moving to

Minot Air Force Base in

January of 1983. Rick was

stationed there with the

91st Supply Squadron.

We honor him as a Viet-

nam Veteran who protect-ed us for 22 years as a

Master Sergeant in the US

Air Force until his honor-

able discharge on April 1,

1988. Following his re-

tirement from the U.S. Air

Force, he was employed

as a car salesman at vari-

ous Minot dealerships un-

til he retired in 2008. Ro

preceded him in death on

December 27, 2015. Rick

had continued to make

his home in the Crystal

Springs subdivision of

Minot.

Rick was a true patriot

who loved his family,

friends, and country. He

was a member of Vincent

United Methodist Church

and a volunteer at the

Lord’s Cupboard Food

Pantry. Rick especially

enjoyed volunteering his

time in the lunchroom at

Edison Elementary where

his grandson attended

school. He was affec-

tionately known as “Papa

Rick” by all the kids. He

was a fanatic about keep-

ing his lawn mowed and

keeping the deer, birds,

and squirrels in his back-

yard fed. He was an avid

St. Louis Cardinals fan

and was always up to date

with the PGA tour. Rick

spent many years golfing

with his wife, son, and

friends at the Souris Val-

ley Golf course. Addition-

ally, he enjoyed hunting

and fishing. Rick also had

a love for Ford Mustangs

that started his senior

year of high school when

his father Herschel, who

worked at the local Ford

dealership, bought him a

brand new 1964 Ford

Mustang.

Rick was well known

for his famous personality

and greetings; he would

always make you feel like

a million dollars. Rick

was a wonderful man and

friend that will be missed

by so many.

Rick’s loving family in-

cludes his children: Chris

(Tiffany) Held and Carey

(Craig) Erickson all of

Minot; grandchildren:

Carson Held, Riley Held,

Nixxen Held and Keaton

Erickson; sister: Cindy

(Steve) Donaldson of

Pevely MO; niece Bessel-

len Stadler of Pevely MO;

brother-in-law: Sam

(Becky) Richards of Festus

MO; close cousin: Char-

lotte “Tudie” Avett of St.

Louis, MO; his loyal can-

ine companion Roxy and

numerous cousins.

Rick was preceded in

death by his parents,

wife, father-in-law and

mother-in-law: Boston

and Bertie Richards and

sister-in-law: Becky (John)

Mothershead.

A private family cele-

bration of Rick’s life, with

military honors, will be

held at his residence. An

informal book signing

will take place on Friday

May 21st from 4 pm to 6

pm at Thomas Family

Funeral Home – Minot.

In lieu of flowers,

memorials are preferred

to the Lord’s Cupboard

Food Pantry or the

donor’s choice.

Memories and con-

dolences may be shared at

www.thomasfamily

funeralhome.com.