Richard Lee “Dickie” Morrow was born January 12, 1947 in Gardner, Kansas. He was the son of Ross and Ethel (Hanson) Morrow. After growing up in Wellsville, Kansas, Dickie moved to Wyandotte County where he made his home in Kansas City, Kansas until his death on Monday, May 17, 2021 at the age of 74.
Dickie graduated from Wellsville High School with the class of 1965. After graduation he began work at Western Electric, which was later taken over by Southwestern Bell, AT&T and finally Lucent Technologies. In 2003 he retired after 36 years in the shipping and receiving department.
While working at Western Electric, Dickie met the love of his life, Regina Gayle Myers. They wed in 1972 and worked together until retirement. He and Gayle were truly the best of friends. It wasn’t often that you saw one without the other. They were an adventurous young couple who loved camping, motorcycle trips, dancing, and spending time at the lake. In recent years, they were especially fond of traveling and trying new restaurants.
Dickie was also a car guy. He loved everything from racing to vintage and custom cars. He attended cars shows around the country and was well known for his custom pinstriping work as well as the hand-lettering of many race cars in the Kansas City area.
In 1974, Dickie and Gayle welcomed their beloved son, Christopher Todd. Christopher inherited his father’s love of cars and racing. They bonded over the many years they spent racing remote control cars and traveling to watch everything from NASCAR to dirt track races together. The two could often be found on The Hill at Lakeside Speedway on a Friday night watching cars go fast and turn left.
With a very full, vibrant life, Dickie took on his most important role when he became Grandpa to Rilee Corinne in 2002, followed by her sister Lucee Olivia in 2004. Grandpa spent many nights and weekends watching his girls play softball, finding scrap paper to keep score on and telling many of his famous jokes to spectators, whether he knew them or not.
He was preceded in death by his parents, twin brother Ronald Lynn Morrow, brothers Roger and Kenny Morrow and sisters Mary Ann Moherman and Gloria Leecy.
He is survived by his wife Gayle of Kansas City, Kansas; his son Christopher of Shawnee, Kansas; daughter-in-law Heather and granddaughters Rilee and Lucee, sister-in-law Adele Morrow of Villa Rica, Georgia; brother-in-law Michael Myers (Sherry) of Grand Junction, Colorado and many nieces and nephews.
A private burial will be held.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations to www.pcnaws.org in memory of Dickie Morrow.