Richard L. Williamson

Richard L. Williamson

Richard L. Williamson

Richard Lee Williamson, age 69, of Orchard died suddenly of an arrhythmia on Wednesday, April 20, 2011, at Avera St. Anthony's Hospital in O'Neill.

Visitation was held at the Ashburn Funeral Home in Orchard on Friday April 22, 2011, from 5-7 p.m.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 23, 2011, at the United Methodist Church in Orchard.

Richard Lee Williamson was born on Aug. 24, 1941, and was raised five miles west of Orchard on the Williamson farm which will be a century-owned farm in August of 2011, a fact that he was very proud of. He graduated from Ewing High School in 1958.

He married Ruby Josephine Carl on April 3, 1959, and moved to Omaha after attending one semester of college at Kearney State. Richard graduated from business school in Omaha in 1960 and they moved to Norfolk where he started working at Gillette Dairy. They were transferred to Bellevue where they lived for four years. They moved back to Norfolk in 1966 where he then worked for the Omaha World Herald and then Fisher Realty as a real estate broker. The family moved to the home place by Orchard in March 1973 and on Nov. 18, 1989, they moved to the final farm two and a half miles west of Orchard.

Throughout his life Richard was known for his talent in performing music and especially in playing the piano. He played with Shorty Avery and the Swingsters and later with the All Knights. In more recent years he performed with the Bumblebees and the Johansen Sisters. During his career he wrote a song called “Rambling Piano,” and recorded with both Shorty Avery and the Swingsters and the All Knights. He was just finishing a music CD called “Let’s Dance” which contained many of his piano favorites.

Richard is survived by his wife,Ruby of 52 years; five children and their spouses, Julie Niedfeldt and her husband Neal of Beatrice, Kevin Williamson and his wife Mary of Chapman, Mike Williamson of O’Neill, Brenda Waters and her husband Curt of Roy, Utah, and Teresa Marts and husband Ed of Winner, SD; 14 grandchildren; one great-grandchild; one sister, JoAnn Lilly and her husband Kent of Kearney; and numerous other relatives and friends.

Richard is preceded in death by his parents, Elmer “Mike” and Irene Williamson; and brothers, Dewaine and Larry Williamson.

Memorial donations will be used for Orchard Youth Baseball and the Orchard Library. Richard enjoyed watching many of his children and grandchildren play baseball and he also was an avid reader of western history.