Richard William Bannon

Richard William Bannon God determines the dates, but we write the dash day-by-day. Richard William Bannon, 82, was born March 30, 1929 in Elmwood Park, Illinois and went home to be with his Lord and Savior on February 28, 2012 after a three-and-a-half year battle with Alzheimer’s. Dick grew up in the Chicago area. His Mother, being a farm girl at heart, didn’t want him hanging around the city in the summers, so she shipped him off to work on the family farms in Indiana each summer. This gave him a love for agriculture which influenced his entire life. After three years at Illinois State Normal, Dick transferred to the University of Illinois to complete his agriculture business degree. While at ISNU, he met the love of his life, Charlotte Bea Caudle. They married five days after graduation and were blessed to celebrate over 60 years together. Dick and Charlotte married in June of 1951, and two months later he joined the Marines. After finishing basic training at Camp Pendleton in California, Dick was transferred to Officer’s Training School at the Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia. He served for two years during the Korean War, followed by eight years in the reserves. Captain Bannon was proud of serving his country as a Marine, and as his children and grandchildren can attest – “Once a Marine, always a Marine.” Dick’s work in Agricultural Marketing and Sales took the family from Illinois to Tustin, California on to Littleton, Colorado and then back to Oak Park, California. After he retired, he worked at Orchard Supply Hardware which he truly loved. He loved to fish and read. Played some golf, but mostly enjoyed fixing things around the house and spending time with family and friends. Dick was always very involved with his church and could be counted on to greet everyone with a smile, handshake (or high five) and a cough drop if needed. He will be dearly missed by his wife, Charlotte Bannon. By his children: Joe (Denise) of Carmel, IN Nancy of Oak Park, CA Scott (Marsha) of Torrance, CA Jeff (Kelley) of Simi Valley, CA And his grandchildren: Heather (Idris) of Cairo, Egypt Bonnie (Brandon and son Brayden) of Augusta, GA Mike (Lacey) of Indianapolis, IN Brett of Torrance, CA Erica of Torrance, CA Katie of Simi Valley, CA Brooks of Simi Valley, CA A celebration of life service will be held at Living Oaks Community Church on March 24th at 11 a.m. followed by an open house at the Bannon’s. Dick loved the television show “Extreme Home Makeover,” and so from the parting words of that show, heaven is saying – “Welcome Home, Richard, welcome home.” In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Dick’s memory to: Our Community House of Hope 348 W. Avenida de los Arboles Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 Attn: Teresa Wolf Their website is: www.ourhouseofhope.org Hospice was simply wonderful and invaluable these past few weeks. The House of Hope is a Hospice home that has been in the works for several years and is finally slated to open in a couple of weeks. They desperately need funds. Our thank you to Buena Vista Hospice, the Perez Family Funeral Home, Living Oaks Community Church, and to all our family and friends. God’s love has been SO evident through you all. THANK YOU!!!