Richard William Bracken, 66, of Warrensburg Missouri, passed away on Thursday January 11th 2023 after a brief battle with cancer. He was born on February 23rd, 1957 to parents Grover and Bertha Ward Bracken who predeceased him. He worked at Phelps Tool and Die in Kansas City until they permanently closed and then as a farm hand for Bell Brothers Farms, who he considered family.

Richard will be remembered fondly by his son William and daughter Billi for instilling in them a love of the great outdoors. He took them fishing frequently as children and taught them from a young age that fish had excellent hearing and would stop biting if one talked too much. This seemed far fetched until Billi and William took their own children out and realized just how brilliant that advice was. Rick had excellent eyesight when he was younger and also took his kids morel mushroom hunting. If they complained that they weren't finding anything he could quickly point out a bread sack's worth in any direction as well the three that they were standing directly on top of. During these outings Rick made sure that his kids learned a diverse vocabulary of curse words and encouraged their usage.

Rick's grandchildren laugh about all of the times that he bet them to lick the live hot wire fence behind his house for dollar bills. Unfortunately they took him up on this on many occasions, much to his and their delight.

Rick's partner in life, Lois, says that her fondest memories with him included trips for yard sales, fishing trips, driving around the country side looking around, and a trip that they took "through a cornfield" with her daughter Donnite along for the ride.

Richard had a fondness for Zebco 33 spin cast fishing reels, Little Debbie snacks (which were his sole diet in his last months), old western movies (best watched in pairs and constantly flipped with the remote), and cheap beer. He loved his one eyed cat Lucky and dogs Max, Molly, and Resess. He was an excellent cook with exception to the year that he injected a turkey with an entire bottle (or 5) of liquid smoke and the time that he lost his eyebrows to a Molotov cocktail used to light charcoal briquettes.

Rick is survived by the woman he loved and considered his wife for 29 years, Lois Larabee,and his children daughter Billi and son William (Anna) Bracken. He held a special place for Lois' daughter Donnite Maines. Grandchildren include Matthew Wolfe (Bailey Welch), Tommy Wolfe, William "Beau" Bracken, Bailey Brown, Hunter Bracken, and Johnathan Brown. He is also survived by his great grand daughter Aspen Wolfe, who was learning expert negotiation skills with her grandfather over M & M's in his final months. Richard is also survived by brothers Jerry (Debbie) James (Linda Kennard) Eddie (Susan) and Larry Bracken, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Memorial graveside services are schedule for 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Zion Hill Cemetery in Concordia, Missouri.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the American Cancer Society.