Richard James LaMere

Richard James LaMere, 54, Moses Lake resident, left his wife and children and went to be with The Lord on Monday, Sept. 26, 2005 at his home. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, Oct. 1, 2005 at 10 a.m. at Kayser's Chapel of Memories with Pastor Dave Chandler officiating. Arrangements are in care of Kayser's Chapel and Crematory in Moses Lake.

Richard, the youngest of two sons, was born in Vallejo, Calif. on Dec. 21, 1950 to the late Clifford and Marjorie LaMere. Most of Richard's childhood was spent in Napa, Calif. living with his mother, until her death when he was only 14 years old. The remainder of his upbringing was done by his brother Ron and sister-in-law Mary Ann in Salinas. Richard's father passed away when he was 18.

After struggling for a while and at the age of 19 Richard moved to Washington state where he attended Bible School and began a lifelong journey of following his Lord and Savior. For several years, Richard was in full-time ministry and directed drug treatment facilities throughout the Seattle and Grays Harbor area.

In the early 1980's, Richard moved to the Tri-Cities where he met and married his one true love, Teresa Lynn O'Dell. They remained in Kennewick until 1987 when they moved to Olympia and then later to Moses Lake in 1989.

Richard spent most of his last 20 years in sales because he loved people and thoroughly enjoyed the aspect of helping them. He would think about doing some other form of employment yet he always came back to sales. He was good at what he did and always believed in the philosophy that if you took care of others then God would take care of you.

Richard was a truly devoted husband and father, his family was his greatest joy and you could not find a man who loved his family more. He will be remembered for his intense love of people and desire to see them happy. He was preceded in death by his mother Marjorie and father Clifford LaMere. He is survived by his wife Teresa LaMere; children Josh Shelton, Dan Shelton, Adam Shelton, Rebecca LaMere, Marcus LaMere and Victoria LaMere, all of Moses Lake; three sons from a previous marriage, Dathan, Aaron and Donnie LaMere, all of Western Washington; brother Ron (Mary Ann) of El Sobrante, California; two grandchildren, Cody and Samantha Shelton of Moses Lake; and many nephews and nieces.

"Richard, we miss you more than you could ever imagine. I will always treasure the time that we had together and I choose to think on the good times rather than the tough times. You have left me with wonderful memories and precious gifts in our children and I am forever grateful to you. Even though we are saddened by your absence, we are thankful knowing that you no longer feel any pain. We will always love you." — Teresa