Richard Ray Larimore, 68, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, went to his heavenly home on November 26th, 2024 after a year-long battle with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. He fought until the last minute and wanted to be present for his family and grandkids as long as he could.

Richard was born in Shelbyville, IL to Wallace and Alice Larimore on November 28, 1955. He was raised on a farm which is where he learned his strong work ethic. He attended Shelbyville High School and graduated in 1973. He met his wife Debi (Spence) Larimore in Rockford, IL where he worked for Farm Services. They were married on April 14, 1979 in Tomah, WI. Richard and Debi moved to Elizabeth, Illinois, and raised their family in the wonderful small community there. Richard and Debi had four daughters and if you know Richard you know he was not a man of many words. We joked he could never get a word in with all those women in the house! In his free time, he would work in his garage on various projects, fish, and garden.

After moving to Elizabeth, Richard started working for Jo Carrol Electric as a CFO where he worked until his retirement in 2010. Before retirement, Richard and Debi started their craft business called Silverware Creations in which they sold items made from antique silverware. This allowed Richard and Debi to go on the road together to see many parts of our beautiful country. During this time, they met many people whose friendships became very special to them.

Richard and Debi moved to Fort Wayne, IN in 2014 to be closer to their girls. They bought a house and he made many improvements to it to stay busy. He loved a good project and could fix anything. He built a swing set for the grandkids and loved to have a “big hot” on warm summer nights.

Richard loved doing puzzles, working in the yard, wearing overalls and suspenders, tinkering with his 1953 Ford pickup truck named Effie, researching family trees, scanning and digitizing old photographs, watching the news, drinking his coffee, and going to Florida to get away from cold Indiana winters.

Richard grew up attending church his entire life and was a believer in Jesus Christ. As the old hymn goes: ‘This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through, My treasures are laid up, somewhere beyond the blue; The angels beckon me from Heaven’s open door, And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.’ His family deeply mourns his passing but have hope in knowing he has eternal life in Heaven and will see him again one day.

He is survived by his loving wife of 45 years Debi Larimore; his daughters, Bethany (Curtis) Hapner of Uniondale, Sarah (Kyle) Kerley, Rachel Larimore both of Fort Wayne, and Janna Larimore of Nashville, Tennessee. He is also survived by his three grandkids Stella and Kellan Kerley, and Bryce Hapner who will greatly miss their Papa. Richard is also survived by siblings Sharon (Don) Doenitz of Edmund, Oklahoma, David (Miyuki) Larimore of Japan, and Shelia Larimore of Taylors, South Carolina.

Richard is preceded in death by his parents and brother Paul who died in infancy.

Over the last year he received countless units of platelets that kept him alive, and we are eternally grateful for those unnamed donors who unknowingly save lives with their donations. If you are one of them, thank you. Richard’s family would like to say a special thank you to all the nurses and doctors that showed compassionate care to him during the past year. They would also like to thank Parkview Hospice.

A private memorial service will be held at a later date.