Richard Lee Shive

Richard Lee Shive, 86, of Keller, Texas went to be with the Lord on Saturday, May 1, 2021. Richard, aka “Poppie”, was a devoted and faithful husband, father, brother, son, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend who will be dearly missed.

Richard was born on September 8, 1934 in Clinton, Oklahoma to Charley and Mary Leota Shive. He attended school in Oklahoma City and graduated from Oklahoma A&M in 1956. Richard married Dorothy Jean Howe on October 7, 1956 and they were happily, lovingly married for 64-and-a-half years.

Richard was an exploration geologist for 47 years for energy companies like Humble Oil, Texas Gulf Sulphur, POGO, Northern Energy, and Houston Energy, where he was well-respected. Richard was an avid rock and fossil hunter and loved talking about rock formations. He was a legendary classroom guest and was famous for his presentations about rocks!

Richard was a Godly leader and a steadfast Christian, modeling a life of service for all those who knew him. He prayed for his family and friends by name, and embodied humility and integrity. Richard and Dorothy were founding members of the Kingwood Church of Christ, where he served as an elder for 27 years. In 2011, Richard and Dorothy moved to Keller, Texas to be near their children and grandchildren, where they plugged into the community at Legacy Church of Christ and built strong relationships within their small group. We know, without a doubt, that Richard is with our heavenly Father now.

Richard loved cars, motorcycles, go-karts, tractors - anything with an internal combustion engine! In the 1950s, he built a ‘32 Ford Roadster with his father and then in the 1970s, he rebuilt a metallic blue ‘67 GTO with his son, Chuck. The Roadster sat in his garage for 20+ years and was a never-ending project that he loved working on. Richard spent time adventuring in the Rocky Mountains and all over Texas with friends on his BMW Touring Motorcycle. One of his favorite trips was visiting the Bonneville Salt Flats with his longtime friend, Bruce, for Speed Week. He helped countless friends and strangers with their cars and was known to direct traffic in crowded parking lots. Poppie helped his granddaughters back out of his driveway every single time.

Richard was a tinkerer and always had a project. In the late 1980s, Richard and Dorothy took possession of a two-room schoolhouse in Nebo, Oklahoma that had, for many decades, served as the community’s school and then church. They poured their hearts into the Schoolhouse, painstakingly renovating and restoring it for 10+ years. Today, it’s a special gathering place for family and friends and is the backdrop to many memories - holidays, family reunions, and weekends at the ranch. The Schoolhouse is a living legacy of Richard’s attention to detail and hardworking nature.

Richard was a world traveler, visiting his daughter Juli and her family in places like Norway, Holland, and all of western Europe. He and Dorothy traveled to Russia, China, Italy, South America, the Holy Lands and all over the United States. Poppie was also a poet, writing birthday poems for his granddaughters for 30+ years. They treasure these words from Poppie, who loved being a grandfather.

Richard was preceded in death by his father, Charley Shive, and his mother, Mary Leota Shive. He is survived by his beloved wife, Dorothy of Keller, Texas, his sister, Ruth Jaytanie of Bristow, Oklahoma, his daughter Juli Findley and her husband David, his son Chuck Shive and his wife, Lisa. Poppie is survived by his 5 granddaughters - Christie Long and her husband Jim, Katie Carnes and her husband Austin, Sarah Games and her husband David, Mary Reeves and her husband Ben, and Laura Riscky and her husband Pete. Poppie is survived by his 5 (soon-to-be 6) great-grandchildren - Findley Long, James Long, Lochlan Carnes, June Reeves, and Zoë Carnes. All who knew Richard loved him, and he will be dearly missed by his nieces, nephews and their families, his church families, his neighbors, and new and old friends alike.

A graveside service will be held on Thursday, May 6th at 2pm at Oaklawn Cemetery in the 600 block of Oaklawn Road in Sulphur, Oklahoma. A memorial celebration honoring Richard’s life will be held Saturday, May 8th at 2pm at Legacy Church of Christ, located at 8801 Mid Cities Boulevard in North Richland Hills, Texas.

The family would like to thank the caregivers from Visiting Angels and Encompass Hospice Care for their compassion - we are forever grateful to have each of you in our lives.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial tributes be made in the form of contributions to Body & Soul Ministries (P.O. Box 1926, Colleyville, Texas 76034 or www.body-and-soul-ministries.org).