Mr. Darel R. Southward, 95, of Richmond, passed away peacefully on Thursday, August 13 at Friends Fellowship Community.
Darel was born in Marshall, Arkansas on December 7, 1924, the son of Elmer Guy & Fern Estelleruth Newton Southward.
Darel entered the US Army on July 6, 1943. He served in an Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion for the duration of World War Two and received his honorable discharge on February 2, 1946. He enjoyed a career as an operating engineer in the heavy construction industry in California with General Ledger and Melhorn Construction, from where he retired. While living out west, he was a member of Shadow Mountain Community Church and the Blackmar Masonic Lodge #442.
Darel moved to the Lynn community in 2002, the same year he married the former Willodean Skinner Johnson. They shared 13 years of marriage before her death on October 19, 2015. He had attended First Baptist Church in Richmond and the Lynn Church of the Nazarene. Darel always enjoyed woodworking.
Darel will be missed by eight grandchildren; his niece, Krystal Emery; nephews, John Southward and Ed MacConaghy.
Darel was preceded in death by his parents, wife, Willodean; stepson, Max Johnson; sister, Ruth and brother, Dorsey Ferdinand Southward.
Visitation for Darel will be from 10 – 11 am on Monday, August 17 at the Smith-McQuiston & Webster Funeral Home, 321 US 27 South, Fountain City.
A funeral ceremony will be conducted by Pastor Tom Govin at 11:00 am on Monday, August 17 at the funeral home. Interment will follow in Fountain Park Cemetery in Winchester.
Online condolences may be expressed at www.smithmcquistonwebster.com .