Richard Close

RICHARD CLOSE

Springville

Richard Close, 68, died Sunday, May 29, 2016, at UnityPoint-St. Luke's Hospital following a sudden illness. Open visitation for family and friends will be held from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 2, at Goettsch Funeral Home, Anamosa. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, June 3, at the funeral home. Interment will be in the Antioch Cemetery, rural Anamosa, with military honors. Thoughts, memories and condolences may be left at www.goettschonline.com.

Survivors include his wife, Kathy; five children, Heath (Shelley) Denver, Colo., Bryon of Marion, and Brandon, Emma and Sarah of Springville; three grandchildren, Brittany, Megan and Heath Jr.; and three siblings, Caroline (Glenn) Williams, Cedar Rapids, Kathie Oltmanns, Anamosa, and Dennis (Itzel) Close, Panama.

He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Chris.

Richard Lee Close was born Sept. 13, 1947, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He was the son of Fred C. and Margurite Thomson Close. Richard attended the Oxford Junction schools and Olin High School. He then enlisted in the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War. He served two tours of duty as a jet and recip airplane mechanic.

Richard married Kathy Petersen on May 16, 1970, at the Olin Evangelical United Brethren Church. The couple lived in Kewanee, Ill., and Olin and Hale before moving to Robins. They moved to Springville in 2012.

Richard was a mechanic for Farm Service and was an electrician at the Vector Corp. He retired from the U.S. post office vehicle maintenance facility on Sept. 30, 2009, in Cedar Rapids.

Richard was a member of the Springville American Legion. He loved to get his hands dirty, whether it was working on his Cub Cadet lawn tractors or building go-karts for his grandchildren. Richard was known to be social in the community, able to strike up a conversation with anyone and he was also known for his big heart, helping anyone who needed it.