Kenneth Richards

(From Clark Funeral Home)

Kenneth Eual Richards, age 73, a lifetime resident of Neosho, Missouri, passed away at 4:08 a.m. on Saturday, January 21, 2023, at Mercy Hospital in Joplin. He was born April 13, 1949, in Neosho to the late Melvin E. and Mae (Huffman) Richards.

Kenneth was a 1967 graduate of Neosho High School and attended MSSU receiving a degree in Business Management. He proudly worked for 32 years as a benefits counselor for the State of Missouri Economic Security Department. He began his career on November 2, 1973, and retired on December 31, 2004. 

Kenneth was a Job Placement Specialist and worked in unemployment compensation. One of his awards states: “He had an exceptional reputation for his easy-going manner and sense of humor which gave him the ability to deal with difficult situations and calm agitated persons when information he had to convey to them was negative.”

Kenneth was proud to be the son of Melvin and Mae Richards and upon retirement, he lovingly and devotedly cared for his parents and served their needs until his mother’s passing in 2009 and then his father in 2016.

Kenneth was a member of High Street Christian Church in Neosho for many years until it recently closed and prior to that Oakwood Christian Church.

He is survived by his sister, Eula Hill and husband Roy, of Neosho; nephews Randy Hill and wife Diane, of Granby; Phillip Hill and wife Nancy, of Lee’s Summit; nieces Lisa (Richards) Davey and husband Mike, of Sumter, South Carolina; and Dana (Richards) Thompson and husband Shannon of Vienna, Missouri.

In addition to his parents, Kenneth was preceded in death by one brother, Jerry Lee Richards.

A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. Friday, January 27, 2023, at Clark Funeral Home in Neosho with Jerry Seigel officiating. Burial will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Neosho. Serving as pallbearers will be nephews Randy Hill and Phillip Hill along with their sons (great-nephews) Blake Hill, Paxton Hill, Conner Hill, and Noah Hill.