Ronald Joseph Richard

Ronald Joseph Richard, 67, of Casper, Wyoming, died June 5, 2025. He was born September 17, 1957, in Wheatland, Wyoming, to Bertram and Madonna Sattler Richard. He graduated from Wheatland High School and attended Casper College.

After his time at Casper College, Ron joined the City of Casper’s Public Services Department in the Traffic Division. He made his entire career there, eventually becoming the Division Supervisor, and took genuine pride in keeping people safe by making traffic systems clear and functional. In addition to his Traffic duties, he wrote and performed in many radio and tv public service campaigns for the City. He retired in 2012.

Not long after starting his career in Traffic, Ron discovered a gift for acting, performing first with the Central Wyoming Theatre Company, and then with Stage III Community Theatre and Casper College Theatre. Ron appeared in approximately 50 shows, and was a favorite with audiences and his fellow actors alike. He also performed in many tv ads for the Casper Crimestoppers program, usually as the villain in crime scene re-enactments. He was always amused when someone who saw him working on the streets would report him to the police as “that criminal they’d seen on tv.”

After his retirement, Ron fulfilled a lifelong goal of writing novels. He published three books in his Group Six fantasy series (and narrated the audiobook versions as well) and had almost completed the fourth book at the time of his death. He also wrote four playscripts for the Theatre of the Mind collaborations between Stage III and the Casper Planetarium and received awards in playwriting competitions sponsored by ARTCORE (Casper) and Opening Nite Theatre (Canada).

Ron was a skilled woodworker who filled his home with furniture of his own design. He was a Dungeons and Dragons dungeonmaster whose creative stories provided years of entertainment for the friends who played the game with him. As a movie and tv fan, he delighted in recognizing and remembering the bit players and character actors – he truly appreciated the people who could make a big impact in a small role. And as a Star Trek fan from the first day the original series hit the air, his knowledge of all Trek versions was encyclopedic. No one ever defeated him in the trivia contests at many Denver StarFest conventions.

Ron married Leta Matthews in 1983; they divorced in 1986. In 2004, he married Pat Greiner, and they spent the final 21 years of his life collaborating on theatre productions, building a cabin on Casper Mountain, and raising an extended family of cats and dogs.

In 2017, Ron received the gift of organ donation in the form of a lung transplant. He was deeply grateful for the extra years of life made possible by the generosity of his donor and the medical skill of the University of Colorado Hospital, as well as the compassion of Central Wyoming Hospice when that transplant eventually failed.

Ron is survived by his wife Pat, sister Carol Hedges, nephew Tom Hedges (Roberta), niece Kelly Taylor, and great-nephews Ken Peasley (Crystl), Michael and Kent Hedges, and Zach, Ryan, and Jesse Taylor. He was preceded in death by his parents Bertram and Madonna Richard, brother Jack Richard, sister Mary Schuessler, and great-nephew Ty Peasley.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to Stage III Community Theatre, the Casper Humane Society, Wyoming Public Radio, or Central Wyoming Hospice.

No services will be held, but a Celebration of Life will take place at Stage III Theatre at a date to be determined.

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