Richard Milton Sewell

Richard was born on January 8th, 1939, to Mickey and Lois Sewell in Skidmore, Missouri. He was raised in Skidmore and spent most of his life in the Midwest before moving to Northern California. Richard lived in California for seven years where he later retired at the age of 62 and moved to Surprise, Arizona.

Richard earned a bachelor’s degree in education from Northwest Missouri State and later attended Webster University where he received a Master of Business Administration. Richard was proud to have served in the Air Force in the 1960’s. Once he completed his term of service, he taught high school for several years, then later began a successful career in Human Resources. He was a Human Resource Director for multiple organizations including Farmland, Louis Rich, Kraft and Hallmark.

Early in his career, he worked as a Human Resources Director at a Jewish Family Outreach Center in Kansas City, Missouri where he met his wife, Mary Beth, who was a Social Worker at the organization. They were married for 33 years, and had three sons, Michael, Jon, and Jeffrey.

Throughout his retirement, Richard was active in the community. He dedicated much of his time serving his church, Christ Church of the Valley, and volunteered as an usher for funeral services. He participated in mission trips to Peru where he helped build schools for impoverished children. He loved to travel and spent time exploring the United States, Europe, Egypt, and Asia.

Richard married his wife, Lorna, in 2013 and enjoyed traveling and growing their faith and ministry in God together.

Richard was preceded in death by his wife, Mary Beth, and brother David. He is survived by his wife, Lorna; brother, Dan; three sons, Michael, Jon, and Jeffrey; two daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren.

Services will be held Saturday, January 6th, 2024. The viewing will be from 11AM – 1PM at Surprise Funeral Care, 16063 W. Bell Rd. Surprise, AZ 85374. A service will follow at 2PM at Sunland Memorial Park, 15826 N. Del Webb Blvd., Sun City, AZ 85351.