Richard G. Wade, 86 Richard G. Wade, a retired auto and aerospace worker from Newark, died on Sunday, July 24, 2022. He was 86. He succumbed to metastatic pancreatic cancer after developing symptoms and receiving a diagnosis in late 2021. Known to his friends as Lefty, he graduated from New Straitsville High School in 1953 at the age of 17 and enlisted in the U. S. Army. In the Army, he was trained in radio communications and served as a member of the Army Security Agency collecting and recording signals intelligence data. He completed a 2 year overseas tour in Japan in 1956. On his 10th wedding anniversary, June 7th, 1974, Lefty was in the second graduating class at COTC, earning an Associate’s Degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology. Beginning in 1956, Lefty worked at both Rockwell International in Heath and North American Rockwell in Columbus, retiring in 1992. During his retirement, he worked part-time at O. D. Hollar and Son Plumbing in Newark. Richard Glenn Wade was born November 13th, 1935 in New Straitsville, Ohio. His birth mother was Beulah (Wade) Matthews. He was raised by his maternal grandparents Chester and Ethel (Montgomery) Wade. In addition to his birth mother and grandparents, he was proceeded in death by his siblings and their spouses; Alice (Harold) Martin, Delbert Wade, Billy (Ann) Wade and Robert (Gladys) Wade; and brother-in-law, John Conn. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Betty J. (Spencer) Wade, and two sons and their families; Richard G. Wade II and his wife Patricia and their children, Marie (Gary) Pihlaja, Stephanie (Daniel) Perez, Nicholas Wade, Erin Wade, Lucy Wade, Melanie Wade and Molly Wade; his son Robert W. Wade and his wife Ashley and their children Eleanor Wade and Calvin Wade. He is survived by seven great-grandchildren, Kaylee, Frederick, Vivian, Anna, Ryan, Lucas and Avery. He is also survived by half-siblings, Carolyn Conn, Thomas (Linda) Matthews, Robert (Vicki) Matthews and Dennis (Leslie) Matthews. Friends may call from 6pm to 8pm on Tuesday July 26, 2022 and 10am to 11am Wednesday, July 27, 2022, at the J. E. HUMPHREY FUNERAL HOME, 118 West Walnut Street, Shawnee, Ohio. Funeral services will be held at 11am on Wednesday, July 27, 2022 at the funeral home. Interment will follow in the New Straitsville cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Central Ohio, 2269 Cherry Valley Road, Newark, Ohio 43055.
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