Uncle Rick

Uncle Rick! Whether you were related or not, he was everyone’s uncle. If you knew Uncle Rick (who more than we could count would call him), you knew you were welcome in his home. Over the years, he took in many others who needed a home. He was generous to those in need and always ready with a good joke, funny story, or a true fact about history. He spent his whole life in the service of others. He quietly went about doing good with no recognition or praise.  

Uncle Rick's story is incredible. 33 years ago, as the loving father of 7 kids, he became a widower when his beautiful wife passed away unexpectedly from a heart attack 10 days after having their 7th child. Realizing he needed help to raise this family of very young children, Rick found the perfect woman to make his family complete. He married Dianne with 3 kids of her own and they added one more to the bunch making them a veritable "yours, mine, and ours" family of 11. Uncle Rick and Aunt Dianne raised this incredible family, weathering the challenges of overcoming the loss of a mother, blending families, and providing for such a large bunch.  Uncle Rick raised 9 strapping boys who are Eagle Scouts, hard-working providers for their families, and honorable men. His 2 daughters were the apples of his eye and he never missed an occasion to send them flowers as a token of his love. He worked hard to create a beautiful tapestry that is woven together with the threads of 11 kids, 31 grandkids, and countless others who were blessed to know Rick Ingram. 

But raising this herd of children wasn’t easy. There were trials and challenges over the years and they suffered financial loss and health scares along the way. For instance, last year, his wife Dianne underwent open heart surgery.  Although she recovered, unbeknownst to anyone, his own heart was deteriorating as he watched and nursed Dianne back to health after her heart surgery. Tragically, last week, he suffered a heart attack followed by 2 strokes and his body ultimately wasn’t able to recover. With his wife and every one of his children surrounding his bed in the ICU, he took his final breaths. This sweet picture of love as he left this world was both beautiful and heartbreaking as his beloved family watched him pass on to those lovingly waiting on the other side.

Now this family is working out how to live life without their anchor. Death and loss are a natural part of life, and now each of the Ingram kids are becoming anchors to their own families as they honor their Father’s legacy each day that they live. If you would like to assist in raising funds for the funeral costs, and seeing that expenses are covered for this family who have endured so much over the years, please donate and share this with others who may want to help as well.