Obituary for Richard Harvey Chaney Sr.
Richard Harvey Chaney, Sr., of Hernando, MS, died Saturday, November 21, 2020, at Baptist Memorial Hospital – North Mississippi in Oxford, MS, following complications from advanced-stage dementia and coronavirus. He was 88 years old.
Born August 9, 1932, in Milano, TX, to Richard Earnest Chaney and Margaret (Maggie) Jane Holdiness Chaney, Mr. Chaney was the eldest of two sons. His younger brother Wyatt Wesley Chaney was killed in an accident when he was only six years old.
Mr. Chaney leaves his beloved wife Yvonne (Mathews) of 67 years. Having grown up as acquaintances in the small Texas town of Hempstead where they attended church and school together, they began dating when he was in college and she was a high school senior. They married on July 10, 1953, and moved immediately to El Paso, TX, where Mr. Chaney was finishing his basic training in the Army. He served two years before moving to Lubbock, TX to complete his college education. He graduated from Texas Tech in 1957 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. During college, he worked as an on-air television newscaster at KDUB TV in Lubbock. Following graduation, he and Yvonne moved to Brenham, TX where he was an announcer at KWHI Radio. During his journalism career, he had the distinction of interviewing several high-profile people including singer Buddy Holly shortly before his untimely death, former United States President and then-Texas Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson, and entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas. He left journalism to pursue a career in sales and management with Armour & Company, working for the meat-packing firm for almost 40 years. While with Armour & Company, which eventually became Conagra, he and his family lived in 10 cities throughout the southeast United States where Mr. Chaney rose in the ranks to senior management positions. After retiring from Conagra, he returned to radio serving as an announcer for a station in Glasgow, KY.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Chaney is survived by daughter Teri Rowell, married to Jack Rowell, of Hernando, MS, daughter Erin Smith, married to Stan Smith, of Hernando, MS, and daughter Lori Guyton, married to Mark Guyton of Memphis, TN; grandchildren Julie Blackwell of Colorado Springs, CO, Michael Blackwell, married to Shanna Blackwell, of Hernando, MS, Samantha Miller, married to Drew Miller, of Louisville, KY, Jeremy O’Rourke of Wellington, New Zealand, Valerie Wilson of Memphis, TN, Katie Herrin, married to Ben Herrin, of Daphne, AL, Randy Duncan of Atlanta, GA , partner of Kirsten Contradas of Southaven, MS, John William Farmer, married to Chasidy Farmer, of Polk City, FL, Anna Marie Farmer of Redondo Beach, CA, Joseph Guyton of Palawan, Philippines and Christina Guyton of Memphis, TN; great grandchildren Nathan Blackwell and Alyssa Blackwell of Hernando, MS, Cohen Miller and Macy Miller of Louisville, KY, Liam Wilson of Memphis, TN, Noah Duncan and Elijsha Duncan of Southaven, MS, and Ethan Farmer, John Farmer, Khloe Farmer and Ava Marie Farmer, all of Polk City, FL. Mr. Chaney is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Wyatt and son Richard Harvey Chaney, Jr.
Mr. Chaney was beloved by all who knew him, including family, friends and even store clerks who knew him by name because of his friendly, outgoing personality. He was a handyman who could fix anything, a car aficionado with a never-ending passion for cars, trucks and campers, and a devoted Christian who declared that his love of Jesus Christ and his family were the most important things in his life. In a sealed letter to his wife, which he wrote before dementia ravaged his cognitive abilities, Mr. Chaney wrote “It is my wish that my funeral will be a simple affair celebrating my life, not mourning my death, knowing that I am now with Jesus who paid for my sins with his blood and invited me to spend eternity with him. I accepted his invitation many years ago.”
Hernando Funeral Home
662 429-5260
www.HernandoFuneralHome.com
Born August 9, 1932, in Milano, TX, to Richard Earnest Chaney and Margaret (Maggie) Jane Holdiness Chaney, Mr. Chaney was the eldest of two sons. His younger brother Wyatt Wesley Chaney was killed in an accident when he was only six years old.
Mr. Chaney leaves his beloved wife Yvonne (Mathews) of 67 years. Having grown up as acquaintances in the small Texas town of Hempstead where they attended church and school together, they began dating when he was in college and she was a high school senior. They married on July 10, 1953, and moved immediately to El Paso, TX, where Mr. Chaney was finishing his basic training in the Army. He served two years before moving to Lubbock, TX to complete his college education. He graduated from Texas Tech in 1957 with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. During college, he worked as an on-air television newscaster at KDUB TV in Lubbock. Following graduation, he and Yvonne moved to Brenham, TX where he was an announcer at KWHI Radio. During his journalism career, he had the distinction of interviewing several high-profile people including singer Buddy Holly shortly before his untimely death, former United States President and then-Texas Senator Lyndon Baines Johnson, and entertainer and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital founder Danny Thomas. He left journalism to pursue a career in sales and management with Armour & Company, working for the meat-packing firm for almost 40 years. While with Armour & Company, which eventually became Conagra, he and his family lived in 10 cities throughout the southeast United States where Mr. Chaney rose in the ranks to senior management positions. After retiring from Conagra, he returned to radio serving as an announcer for a station in Glasgow, KY.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Chaney is survived by daughter Teri Rowell, married to Jack Rowell, of Hernando, MS, daughter Erin Smith, married to Stan Smith, of Hernando, MS, and daughter Lori Guyton, married to Mark Guyton of Memphis, TN; grandchildren Julie Blackwell of Colorado Springs, CO, Michael Blackwell, married to Shanna Blackwell, of Hernando, MS, Samantha Miller, married to Drew Miller, of Louisville, KY, Jeremy O’Rourke of Wellington, New Zealand, Valerie Wilson of Memphis, TN, Katie Herrin, married to Ben Herrin, of Daphne, AL, Randy Duncan of Atlanta, GA , partner of Kirsten Contradas of Southaven, MS, John William Farmer, married to Chasidy Farmer, of Polk City, FL, Anna Marie Farmer of Redondo Beach, CA, Joseph Guyton of Palawan, Philippines and Christina Guyton of Memphis, TN; great grandchildren Nathan Blackwell and Alyssa Blackwell of Hernando, MS, Cohen Miller and Macy Miller of Louisville, KY, Liam Wilson of Memphis, TN, Noah Duncan and Elijsha Duncan of Southaven, MS, and Ethan Farmer, John Farmer, Khloe Farmer and Ava Marie Farmer, all of Polk City, FL. Mr. Chaney is preceded in death by his mother and father, brother Wyatt and son Richard Harvey Chaney, Jr.
Mr. Chaney was beloved by all who knew him, including family, friends and even store clerks who knew him by name because of his friendly, outgoing personality. He was a handyman who could fix anything, a car aficionado with a never-ending passion for cars, trucks and campers, and a devoted Christian who declared that his love of Jesus Christ and his family were the most important things in his life. In a sealed letter to his wife, which he wrote before dementia ravaged his cognitive abilities, Mr. Chaney wrote “It is my wish that my funeral will be a simple affair celebrating my life, not mourning my death, knowing that I am now with Jesus who paid for my sins with his blood and invited me to spend eternity with him. I accepted his invitation many years ago.”
Hernando Funeral Home
662 429-5260
www.HernandoFuneralHome.com