Mr. Douglas ‘Doug’ Richard Richey of Red Deer, Alberta passed away peacefully, with his wife and daughter at his side, at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre on Wednesday, February 27, 2024 at the age of 78 years.
He will be lovingly remembered by his wife, Penny, his daughter, Marla, his granddaughters, Brooke (Richard), Sophie (Caleb), and Rachel, and his great grandson, Chandler. Doug was predeceased by his father, Bill and his mother, Marguerite.
Doug was born and raised in Regina and attended Sheldon Williams Collegiate.
Aviation was Doug’s vocation and first love. He lived close to the Regina Airport and he and his buddies would spend a lot of time on their bikes at the Airport. His dad took him on an introduction flight while visiting Minnesota and he was hooked. So, as a teenager, he got a job at Canadian Aircraft as a “hanger rat.” He was able to obtain his Learner Pilot License and Commercial by the time he was sixteen years of age. Of course, as a hanger rat, he was learning the mechanical skills and logistics of managing an Aeronautics Operation. His career began with crop dusting in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Texas. Then, he moved into commercial and corporate flying, landing at Air Spray in Red Deer in 1980. He flew with Air Spray until 1996, flying his beloved B-26.
During his flying career, he did medical evacs to and from the United States, flying into northern Fishing camps and many corporate and pleasure trips throughout North America with business, family, and friends.
One of his great memories was playing the trombone in the Regina Police Boys Band. The band traveled far and wide to Band Festivals, with the most notable traveling to Toronto on the Grey Cup Train. He became their drum major for the Grey Cup Parade that year. He did play in the Roughrider Band on occasion as well. He was a die-hard Roughrider fan and attended two Grey Cups in Regina, the most recent in 2013, with his buddy Ken Curtis.
In 1970, a chance meeting at Rowan’s Ravine led to a fifty-two-year relationship. Penny and Doug were married in Assiniboia in 1971. It was 105 degrees, no air-conditioning in the church or the hall. They purchased a small house and settled into married life. In the summer of 1973, Doug had a contract to crop spray at Skocdopole Farms in Olds, Alberta. Unfortunately, while aerial seeding grass at the Golf Course in Olds, he crashed his airplane and sustained a head injury. He was back in the plane within a couple of days and continued his contract that summer.
In February 1973, a family friend wanted to fly to Mexico in his four passenger Mooney. Andy did not have any mountain flying airtime, so he invited Penny and Doug to join them. They flew from Regina to Acapulco, via Salt Lake City, Tucson, Arizona, and Mazatlán, landing in Acapulco. Prior to the end of the planned trip, they were required to leave their accommodation prematurely due to overbooking. There were no available accommodations and there was a storm between Acapulco and Mexico City. So, they ended up sleeping on the tarmac under the airplane that night. The next day, they flew to Mexico and McAllen, Texas. The trip led them to Denver, where they stayed for two days until a storm finally allowed them to return to Regina. There are many stories to tell about that trip.
Later that summer, very good friends, Grace and Gerry Harmen purchased Twin Anchors Marina in Sicamous, BC. Doug had worked at Catlin Marine in Regina, in his teen years and he was very mechanically inclined, and Gerry had asked him to join them to do maintenance on boats and boat engines. Marla was born in Salmon Arm that fall. There were lots of fun times and adventures over the years with the Harman’s. After leaving Sicamous, the family returned many times over the years to renew the friendship and houseboat on the Shuswap. One of the memorable trips with the Harmans was a ten-day sailing trip in a 40’sailboat from Lund, BC up the coast, and around the Island.
In 1974, his boss, Roy Blakely bought a Heli-Home, a Huey helicopter that was turned into a Winnebago. He went to Orlando, Florida for six weeks to train with the Sheriff’s Department to learn to fly a Huey, a Vietnam War gunship. It was a great adventure, but upon returning the Heli-Home to Canada, it was difficult to obtain licensing through the Department of Transport, so the project died, and the Huey was sold.
He continued to do Commercial flying in Regina with Grizzly Air, Blakely Tractor, and Degelman Industries.
In 1979, Penny’s cousin convinced him to come to Red Deer to fly in a Commercial Operation which led him to fly a B-26 with Air Spray, an Alberta Fire suppression company. In those days, the contracts were 90 days, from April/ May to July/August, some years they worked into September, depending on the fire season. He spent many summers on Tanker bases in Alberta, British Columbia, and the Yukon doing forest fire suppression.
In the off-season, he dallied in several different vocations: spring and fall farming with the Morrisroe’s and Brett’s, fabricating aircraft at the Calgary Airport, harvesting driftwood from Williston Lake in Northern British Columbia, constructing shipping containers for the transportation of Air Spray’s equipment, supplies, and parts for aircraft maintenance and electrical installations for friends.
When Marla was twelve, she began skiing with the Red Deer Ski Club. Penny and Doug were very involved in the establishment and development of the Red Deer Ski Club, including the Charter and the recruiting of Ski Instructors. Since he was regularly transporting Marla to the Canyon Ski Hill, he joined the Red Deer Ski Patrol. He loved this volunteer service, meeting many new friends and this allowed him to ski whenever he could. He also worked at Gord’s Ski Shop; all his earnings went into family Ski equipment.
Marla and her family moved to Australia, so they travelled there to visit twice, for a month each time. Doug loved Australia and would have moved there in a minute if an opportunity arose, to allow this move. They were able to visit the Australian Zoo, Snakes Down Under, The Great Barrier Reef on Lady Musgrave Island and many local sites around Coral Cove.
Prior to Penny’s retirement, they began traveling to the United States exploring many areas in the Western United States, eventually settling in as snowbirds in Brenda, Arizona, at Dessert Gold RV Resort. Doug purchased a RZR side-by-side and had many wonderful desert trips with his new friends and family.
In 2016, they purchased a Park Model on the Island in Lake Havasu, Arizona. This truly was his “Happy Place.” They renewed old friendships and developed many more friends, continued to do desert trips and boating, once they purchased a patio boat. As a result of more health issues and the arrival of COVID-19, they sold the unit and the boat, and returned to Canada.
Doug and Penny began camping seriously once they moved to Red Deer, Alberta. There were many trips in Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, and the northwest United States. Penny’s family had an annual “Haug Family Camping weekend” every August Long Weekend. It was a highlight of the camping season for fifty plus years. Doug was always keen to go and reacquaint himself with the family and enjoy food, fun, music, and food, lots and lots of food. Recently, he told Penny we’re going to be more camping this year. His second “Happy Place” was at the Outback, Lyle Gorslines’ spot outside of Sundre, Alberta. So many great friends were made there that they have become part of our family.
Doug was keenly interested in many different things as demonstrated in his life. He was clever and full to the brim with knowledge gained through all his life experiences.
He was strong-willed and stubborn at times but always had good intent. His friends say he was always available to help when there was work to be done.
When his time came, he carried himself with dignity and strength and was full of gratitude and love for those who shared his life experience. He will be dearly missed.
The family wishes to acknowledge the staff and physicians of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre, Specifically, Primary Care Physicians, Dr. K. Boake, Dr. Myburgh and especially Dr C. Claasen,
Department of Surgery / Anesthesia, especially Dr L. Farries, Dr. P Hardy, Dr M. Muirhead and Dr. P. Panayides, ER Physicians, specifically this past admission, Dr. Blackshaw, Department of Gastroenterology, Dr. Simmonds and Dr Ammanulah, Department of Medicine, Dr. K. Jim, D. Pimm and Dr Singh, Intensivists, Dr. Hall and Dr Lim. The Unit staff of all disciplines and services over the years would include Emergency, Endoscopy, Heart Function, Stroke Prevention, OPD, Unit 22 and Unit 31. Doug spent many weeks on Unit 23 over the years, the family is so appreciative of all that you did.
In this most recent visit, the ER staff needing a special thanks, was Troy, Lori-Ann and Stephanie. The ICU nursing staff were Heather, Johanna, Colleen, and Social Worker, Kerri, there were more but I cannot recall all of their names.
Please accept an apology if we have missed anyone, I hope we demonstrated our gratitude at the time he received care.
The family has established a Memorial Fund with the Red Deer Regional Hospital Foundation at www.rdrhfoundation.com/memorial, for funds that will go toward comfort measures for the staff. For example, the ICU staff lounge furniture requires replacement, as the furniture is twenty years old. A Celebration of Doug’s remarkable Life was held at the Parkland Funeral Home, 6287 – 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer, Alberta on Saturday, March 9, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. For those unable to attend, please go to www.parklandfuneralhome.com and click on the Live Stream button just prior to 11:00 a.m. Cremation entrusted to Parkland Funeral Home and Crematorium, Red Deer, Alberta. Condolences, memories and photos may be shared and viewed at www.parklandfuneralhome.com

Parkland Funeral Home and Crematorium (Red Deer)

6287 – 67 A Street (Taylor Drive), Red Deer. 403.340.4040.

ONLY LOCALLY FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED FUNERAL HOME/CREMATORIUM

IN THE CITY OF RED DEER

• Date : 2024-03-12
• Location : Locally Family Owned (Red Deer/Blackfalds/Eckville) www.ParklandFuneralHome.com & (Innisfail/Olds/Didsbury/Sundre) www.HeartlandFuneralServices.com