Funeral services for Richard Davis, 53, of Kansas City, MO, will be held at St. Gabriel Archangel Catholic Church, 4737 N. Cleveland, Kansas City, MO 64117, on Friday, September 7, 2012 with the Rev. Joe Sharbel officiating. There will be visitation at the church beginning at 10 a.m., with the funeral to follow at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Mount Moriah Cemetery South in Kansas City.

Richard Lee Davis was born in Atkinson, Nebraska, on April 12, 1959, to James and Adelia Davis. He died on September 2, 2012, in Kansas City, Missouri, after a lengthy but courageous battle with cancer.

Richard was raised on the family farm just east of Stuart. He attended St. Boniface Catholic Elementary School and graduated from West Holt High School in 1977. In his early childhood he spent several summers near Lexington, Nebraska at a camp for the visually impaired. In high school, one of his passions was FFA, and he was the first State Officer (Northeast Area Chairman) from West Holt. He attended the University of Nebraska/Lincoln and was a member of Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity. He graduated from UNL with an Agribusiness degree. After graduation he worked for several businesses including Stuart Fertilizer, Laetsch's Feed Mill, ARC International, Amoco Petroleum and others. Richard was an entrepreneur at heart and spent most of his career running his own computer business, IB Enterprises. He spent several years in Denver, Colorado, where he first met and fell in love with Jackie Meisner. They moved from Denver to her hometown of Kansas City in 1996, where they have lived since.

Richard had many obstacles in his life to overcome, but always looked at each of them as an opportunity, and he was never known to complain. He loved to build things and even as a small child he would take apart radios and put them back together. For years he was the CB radio king around the Holt County area and installed many a radio in pickups and cars. He had a special bond with both grandmothers, Gertie and Rosa. He would spend many hours visiting them and listening to their stories. He lived life to its fullest and was always putting everyone's needs before his own. Nothing brought him more pleasure than cooking for neighbors and helping others.

Richard is survived by the love of his life, Jackie Meisner of Kansas City, her son Larry (Mikki) and children Derek, Cory, Manuel and Rikki Mae; Jackie's sister Brenda Hunnicutt and daughter Kim; Jackie's mother Hazel Johnson and JR Barber; Jackie's aunt and uncle Thelma and Ishmael Rocha; his parents James and Adelia Davis of Stuart, NE; brothers Steve (Patti) of Waterloo, IA; Terry (Kathy) of O'Neill, NE; Lyle (Gina) of Cozad, NE; Pat (Patty) of Denver, CO; sisters Annette Spooner of Blair, NE and Lisa (Marty) Troshynski of North Platte, NE; 23 nieces and nephews and 12 great nieces and nephews; and special friends whom he thought of as his second parents, Betty and Al Stracke of Lakewood, CO, as well as many, many other friends too numerous to mention.

In lieu of flowers, the family is suggesting memorials to the West Holt FFA Chapter, Alpha Gamma Sigma Fraternity, or a charity of your choice.