Richard Myers Jenkins, age 85, of 12477 Circuit Street, Waterford, died Sunday, March 22, 2009 at Hamot Medical Center after a long illness. Born in Girard on October 27, 1923, he was a son of the late John and Rhea Myers Jenkins. He married Pauline Wilcox on November 10, 1948, and she survives.
After graduating from high school, Dick attended Edinboro College for a year before enlisting in the US Navy. He served during WWII from 1941-45 on a ship repair unit at Pearl Harbor as part of the Asiatic Pacific campaign. He completed his education at California State Teachers College and returned home to teach for a year at Union City schools. It was during this time that he eloped with Pauline and the two made their home in Waterford.
Dick and his twin brother Robert owned and operated Jenkins’ Tractor and Implement Service in Waterford until 1964, when Dick became Transportation Supervisor for the Fort LeBoeuf School District. He retired from there in 1985.
He was a member of the First United Methodist Church of Union City, he served on the Waterford Fair Board for many years, and he was a charter member of the Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society, where he enjoyed working on the historical Judson House and Eagle Hotel.
He is preceded in death by a son, Jeffrey Edmund Jenkins, and his sister, Priscilla Whitehill.
Survivors in the family include his wife, Pauline Wilcox Jenkins; a daughter, Darcee Elise Anthony and her husband Fred, and a son, Lon Wilcox Jenkins, all of Erie; his granddaughter, Rachel Anthony; his twin brother, Robert Jenkins and his wife Betty of Waterford; a sister-in-law, Helen Taylor of Lake City, his brothers-in-law, Elwin Rose of Waterford and Edward Wilcox and his wife Norma, of Fredonia, PA; and many nieces and nephews.
Friends may call at the Van Matre Funeral Home, West First and Walnut Streets, Waterford on Tuesday from 2-4 and 7-9pm. Funeral services will be held at the First United Methodist Church of Union City on Wednesday at 11:00am officiated by Rev. Linda Chambers. Final resting place will be in Waterford Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the First United Methodist Church of Union City, or the Fort LeBoeuf Historical Society.
Lon,
Please know that our thoughts are with you and your family. Our hope is that time will turn this sadness into warm and treasured memories of your father.
Fondly,
Karen and Gil