Richard Louis "Dick" Pickens

Richard Louis (“Dick”) Pickens passed away peacefully at his home on August 31, 2022 at the age of 90. Born in Konawa, Oklahoma to Louis A. Pickens and Atha Louise Pickens, on April 28, 1932, Dick lived a long, fulfilling and rewarding life for which he was forever grateful.

For those fortunate enough to have known Dick, many are likely to have considered him on the Mount Rushmore of larger-than-life people they have ever known. Dick’s presence was something to behold, as he cast a large shadow both figuratively and literally. His physically commanding size and voice were matched by a forceful, charismatic, and engaging personality. These traits combined with a curious and bright mind and a strong value system fostered and developed in his childhood, guided Dick throughout his life’s journey.

Inquisitive. Curious. Adventuresome. Smart. Determined. Commanding. Leader. Bold. American. Salesman. Business founder and owner. Resourceful. Story teller. Laughter. Giving. Caring. Compassion. Spiritual. Loving. These are just a few words that come to mind when attempting to characterize Dick and the life he lived.

Dick graduated from Holdenville High School in 1950 and soon thereafter found himself in combat as he was part of the first National Guard artillery battery to see combat action in Korea. Sergeant Pickens served as a forward artillery observer for Battery C, 171st Field Artillery battalion of the 45th Division. He was always proud of his military service and of all the other men and women who served before and after him. His love of country helped to frame his thinking for the rest of his life.

Upon returning from Korea, he started a family and began a successful life-long career in the oil and gas business. From a first marriage, he helped to raise 3 daughters: Melinda, Susan and Janie. A natural born salesman and charmer, Dick began repping for several major national manufacturers of chemical injection pumps, all types of values and associated parts related to the production of oil and gas. His drive, determination and entrepreneurial spirit led to him founding Richart Distributors, Inc. in 1965, a family-owned business which he ran from its creation until the last few years of his life. Back in those early days of Richart, salesmen were routinely assigned specific geographic territories in which to make calls. Over the next 25 years, Dick had become so knowledgeable about the products he was selling and so well known that purchasing agents and supply stores in many service territories beyond his designated territory wanted to buy directly from him at Richart. This situation created a problem for some at the primary manufacturer for which he was repping, which eventually resulted in the termination of his agency relationship in 1991.

Did this deter Dick? Not one bit. While most people might think about slowing down as they approach 60 years of age, Dick was just beginning to hit his stride. Rather than retire, or begin selling someone else’s product lines, in 1991 Dick designed and developed and began selling his own brand – the Flomore brand – of chemical injection pumps and a variety of valves and related parts.

With the assistance of many valued employees, sales representatives, vendors and loyal customers, Dick grew the Flomore brand and weathered the industry up and down cycles time and time again. In 2006, at the age of 74, due to the continued development of the Flomore brand, Dick moved Richart to its present location at I-35 S and Grand Boulevard, more than tripling his previous warehouse space. Today, Flomore products continue to be utilized on oil and gas production facilities throughout the United States and across the globe.

As a proud American, one of Dick’s guiding business principles was to sell products made exclusively with American made parts. Each of his purchasing managers over the years quickly learned directly from Mr. Pickens that if a product was going to be labeled with the Flomore brand, the purchasing manager was going to source the product with American made parts. He also developed numerous business relationships and friendships with foundries across the Southwest and especially with his machinist, Danny Odom at Aero Components. Additionally, any one driving by Richart over the years will have seen, and continue to observe today, the American flag that he proudly displayed on location.

As much as Dick loved tinkering and transforming new ideas into a different way of designing a new pump or product, or making a new sale, nothing quite approached the love he had and felt for Betty Ann Pickens, whom he married in 1976. Those closest to Dick and Betty know that he shared his love for her until his passing. Being a lifelong student of the bible and a believer in God, Dick was very much at peace with the end of his journey on Earth. The only thing he truly cared about in his final few years was that his beloved Betty was taken care of.

When they married, Betty’s daughter, Cathy, was 15. Not only did Dick help to continue raising Cathy, but their relationship continued to grow, and it did not take long for Dick to view Cathy as his daughter and for Cathy to view Rich (Cathy and Betty’s name for Dick) as her father.

Over their more than 45 years together, Dick and Betty shared so many wonderful adventures together. Not just in building Richart together, but, to name a select few: traveling throughout the Caribbean to scuba dive, especially to their home in St. Croix in the 1980’s, and then later many trips to Grand Cayman. Traveling overseas to take river cruises and to sight see, especially to Italy, Germany, France, New Zealand and Australia. Spending time at their lake home at Grand Lake in the 1980’s and then for much of the past 20 years at their cabin in Colorado, where Dick could escape the Oklahoma heat in the summer and enjoy the holidays in the winter.

Dick also enjoyed comedy shows, like the Three Stooges, and cartoons, such as Tom and Jerry and Bugs Bunny, especially while watching and laughing with his grandson Davis. He enjoyed a good story, a good laugh, a good meal, a fine glass of red wine, a good cigar and 12-year-old scotch. Dick loved trying new things and remained quite active well into his 80’s. He enjoyed white water rafting the Snake River in Wyoming and the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. He enjoyed flying so much that he purchased multiple planes over his career. He enjoyed cross-country trips with friends on his several motorcycles, hiking through the Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park and Lake Louise in Banff, among many other places. He enjoyed walks with his many dogs, including Mike, Tinker, Muffy, and Josie. He enjoyed meeting new people and talking to anyone. Perhaps his greatest gift in communication was simply being a tremendous listener. Family and friends can recount hundreds of instances where Dick would sit down with someone or put one of his long arms around their shoulders and start a conversation with them by saying nothing more than “How are you doing?” And it could not be more genuine as he truly cared how that person was doing. That simple question often would lead to a 20 minute or 2 hour conversation no matter what else was going on. And that conversation could literally take place with a complete stranger. Many a time when Dick was traveling with family, friends or colleagues, either at breakfast or lunch in one of the diners or dives he liked to try, he would just get up from his table, sit down uninvited at some stranger’s table, and start talking to them as if they were long lost friends. And this was especially likely to happen if there was a young mother holding a new baby or there was any red-headed child at the table. Dick simply enjoyed the engagement with people.

With his many successes came great perspective. He believed that to whom much is given, much is expected. And he lived his life that way by helping out friends, families in need, colleagues and strangers with untold acts of kindness, including paying for rent, tuition for kids, car payments, vacations, and legal problems, to name a few. Additionally, Dick supported too many causes to mention, but the Seward Road Baptist Church, where Dick taught Sunday School lessons for many years, and the Neill-Wint Center for Neurodiversity at U.S.A.O. in Chickasha, where his grandson Davis attends college in a program for young adults on the autism spectrum, stand out.

Dick will be missed by many. However, he left his mark on the many who will cherish his memory. When recently asked to name a few things that he will miss about his Pop, one of the first things mentioned by his grandson Davis was “the blessings of thanksgiving that Pop made before every family meal.” Dick was predeceased by his parents, oldest daughter Melinda, granddaughter Jessica and grandson Adam. He is survived by his wife, Betty Pickens, his daughters, Susan Fleming, Janie Ravolis and Cathy Perri, and grandchildren, Rich Prange, Sarah Matthews, Doug Smith, Josh Rosencras, and Davis Perri, and numerous great-grandchildren.

A celebration of Dick’s life will be scheduled by the family at Richart at a date and time to be determined in the future, which will be posted by Hahn-Cook. The family wishes to express its sincere thanks to Barbara Booker and her dedicated team at Integrity Senior Care for the kindness and care extended to Dick and Betty these past several years and thanks to Emerald Hospice for the loving care provided during Dick’s final weeks.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Neill-Wint Center for Neurodiversity at the University of Sciences and Arts in Chickasha. Donations can be made on the link for the Neill-Wint Center for Neurodiversity on the USAO website at https://usao.edu/future-students/neill-wint-center-for-neurodiversity.html