Ingalls

Richard (Dick) James Ingalls went to be with his Lord and Savior on July 30, 2023, from complications of a stroke. Dick was born in Buffalo, Wyoming, on May 9, 1930, the oldest of four children. Despite being raised in poverty, Dick learned the value of hard work and had an intense desire to learn. He started working on a ranch at eight or nine years old. During the school year he would work at a service station or Good Year store. He would go to the library and read encyclopedias while waiting for the bus to take him to the town closest to home and then walk the remaining mile.

During Dick’s senior year in high school, he was invited to a Halloween party at a church and accepted Jesus as his savior. Through that church he was able to get a loan from a bank so he could attend college. (It took about 15 years for him to repay the loan, but he repaid every penny.) While attending Whitworth College in Spokane, WA, Dick worked as a busboy in the dining hall where he met his future wife, Helen, who was a waitress. Dick and Helen married January 5, 1951, right before Dick shipped out to Korea for two years as part of the National Guard.

After his discharge, Dick earned a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Colorado in Boulder and accepted a research position for National Supply Company in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1959 Dick was transferred to Houston where he continued to work as a plant engineer and then as a sales engineer. In 1967 Dick changed course and became the Director of Maintenance for the Houston Independent School District where he worked until his retirement in 1988.

Dick was a pioneer in energy conservation and became the Assistant Superintendent in charge of HISD’s Energy Conservation Department. During the 1970s he would give talks on energy conservation at various businesses. To this day his daughter walks around behind people turning off lights!

For many years Dick and Helen were active in Westbury Baptist Church working with the College & Career Sunday School Class. Many a weekend his home would be full of 20 to 30 young people singing hymns or just hanging out. Dick and Helen became substitute parents to many of them and their spare bedroom was often occupied by various young people in need.

After retiring, Dick and Helen moved to La Grange, and Dick helped Helen with her business, M & H Publishing. Dick and Helen joined the Texas Baptist Builders in 1994 helping build 73 churches. Dick had many hobbies and interests and he left behind beautiful oil paintings that are cherished by his family and friends.

Helen died in 2008 after they had celebrated 57 years of marriage. Dick married Patricia Richetti later that year. They would have celebrated their 15th anniversary on August 1st.

Dick was preceded in death by his father, Earl Eugene Ingalls; mother, Edla May (Van Meter) Ingalls; brother, Donald Earl Ingalls, and wife, Helen Hone Ingalls. He is survived by his brother, Eddie (Margie) Ingalls; sister, Earleen Ingalls; wife, Patricia Ann Ingalls; daughter, Linda Ingalls; son, Larry (Linda) Ingalls; son, Don (Toni) Ingalls; grandchildren: Daniel (Hannah) Ingalls, Christina (Mark) Wysor, Sarah Ingalls, Cindy Ingalls, and great-grandchildren, Autumn Wysor and Ellie Ingalls, as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

Dick’s Celebration of Life Service will take place at New Life Methodist Church, 1215 N. Von Minden Road, La Grange, on Aug. 19, 2023 at 2 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, a memorial fund has been set up in Dick’s honor to help his dear caregiver, Shamika McGee, get her RN’s degree. Even the smallest donation is appreciated at https://www.gofundme.com/f/education-for-Shamika-McGee.

Family and friends can view and sign the guestbook online at https://www.lagrangefunerals.com/obituary/richard-ingalls.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Koenig-Belvill Funeral Home & Cremations in La Grange.