Richard Edward “Dick” Carr, Sr.
Richard Edward “Dick” Carr, Sr. 78, of St. Louis, passed away on Tuesday, February 5. God and faith, family, giving to others, and pride of his hometown can summarize Dick’s purposeful life. He was born December 28, 1940 in St. Louis, Mo., son of the late William Joseph Carr and Marie Frances (Herrmann) Carr. On October 28, 1961 he was united in marriage to Patricia Ann (Sawitczki) Carr, his wife of 57 years.
Survivors include Patricia and their four children: son Richard Carr, Jr.; son Timothy (Christine), Jacob (Kristin), Jason, Jeremy (Marissa), Cayla, Nicholas, Zachary and Sophia; daughter Cathleen Horst (Richard), Angela Carr, Tim and Melissa Horst; and son Gregory (Cathy), Lauren, Danielle and Anna. Great grandchildren: Kaydin, Kristopher, Jackson and Kyle. Also surviving are his sister Dorothy Zak (Nicholas) and brother William Carr, Sr. (Patricia) and nieces, nephews and friends.
Dick was a 1958 graduate of St. Mary’s High School. He once said his high school years were “some of the best years of my life”. He was a life-long member of St. Francis De Sales Parish (SFDS) and loved his church family like his own. He was deeply involved in many organizations within the parish. He was a member of the SFDS Credit Union and SFDS Benevolent Society and former Parish Picnic and Parish Green Social chairman. He was a member of the Benton Dramatic Club, Holy Name Society, and was White House Retreat coordinator and retreatant for more than 40 years. He was founder of the Edward J. Auer Endowment Fund and a Fourth Degree Member of the Knights of Columbus. Notably, Dick was a catalyst in helping the pastor build a new chapel in the Parish rectory at St. Francis de Sales.
Dick loved to stay active and involved with his children and youth. Dick taught 5th and 6th grade at SFDS and was the first male teacher at the school. He was SFDS Athletic Association president for many years and he represented the parish through the Catholic Youth Council. Dick coached all three sons in basketball during their grade school years, impacting many more children through his love of the game. He managed the parish’s Sunday Night Men’s Volleyball League. Dick dedicated time to the Chi-Rho youth group at SFDS. Also displaying Dick’s passion for his community, he helped 46 local families obtain housing inspections so they could own their own homes in South St. Louis.
Dick was a graduate of Bailey Technical Institute and St. Louis University where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Economics. Dick’s career journey included a school teacher, a technical writer for B52 and AB58 bombers at Emerson Electric and for the Mercury and Gemini space capsules at Missouri Research; he was in sales and service for Century Electric, Burroughs and Unisys; he was a certified real estate appraiser and a realtor; and he retired from the City of St. Louis Water Division as a Right of Way Planner. Dick’s hobbies included camping, bass fishing (he made his own lures), slow pitch softball, bowling, golf, horseshoes, ping-pong, building and repairing anything and watching his beloved Cardinals and Blues.
Forever a man of humility, Dick would engage anyone in conversation and leave them with a smile. His principled-approach to decisions, his love of family, and his care for people less fortunate will always be remembered.
A celebratory memorial Mass will be held on March 2, 2019 at Cure’ of Ars Catholic Church in Shrewsbury at 9:30 am.
Memory contributions preferred to the Roman Catholic Foundation – Edward J Auer Endowment Fund,