Richard Daryl “Rick” Dudley

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday afternoon, May 7, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. from the chapel of the Taylor Funeral Home. Tommy Marvin will give his eulogy. Visitation will be on Thursday May 7^th beginning at 11:00 a.m. until service time. Place of rest will be in the Bon Aqua United Methodist Church Cemetery.

Those desiring memorials are suggested to St. Jude Children’s Hospital.

Richard Daryl “Rick” Dudley, age 69, of Bon Aqua, TN died suddenly May 3, 2026 Tri-Star Natchez ER.

Richard “Rick” Dudley was born March 8, 1957, to Thomas Ezra Dudley and Bertie Lee Cannon Dudley in Wayne County, Highland Park, Michigan at Highland Park General Hospital. He got his nickname the day he was born when deciding on his name his parents liked Richard…. his daddy replied, “He looks like a little Ricky to me” and it stuck. His siblings and close family members would call him Ricky. He lived in Michigan until 4th grade and then the family moved to McEwen, TN where he would live until he finished High School. He was the third child born with his siblings: Tom, Carol and Barbara.

He worked as an exceptional employee for over 20 years for Lewis Bakeries. He made lifelong friends on his journey with Lewis Bakeries and held those friendships for years, not only the people he worked with, but also with the relationships he formed with the store owners and workers he met along his routes.

He had many hobbies he enjoyed that many may vividly recall such as coon hunting, camping, and trail riding with his friends and later with his kids, grandkids and family. Rick loved life and loved sharing his world of things he enjoyed with the people he loved. You would often discover through talking with Rick his adventures of coon hunting or trail rides in his stories. He loved nothing more than recounting the countless stories of adventure throughout the years. For him, reliving the people and the events kept the memory and person alive and that is what made Rick happy. The happiness of others would be what made Rick happiest.

Rick was a devoted friend, a trusted companion, and a loving father and PAPA to us all.

Although Rick was a devoted employee, it never shadowed his role as a father to his children. His family always came first. Rick had five children: Shelly, Crystal, Scott, Jessica, and Selena. He lived in Waverly for many years raising his children and then his last 32 years in Bon Aqua, TN with his wife Marie and his many wonderful grandchildren who he spent a lot of time with throughout the years. He loved all his grandchildren and made sure he imparted lessons and love to them in an intentional and special way uniquely tailored to each of them. He loved the grandkids being together and building relationships with each other. Even after Papa’s long recovery of 2021; he still went on to make impactful and meaningful memories with each of his family members. He made the most of a difficult health journey by feeling thankful and grateful to be a part of this life. It seemed it made every memory even more special because we got a chance to see life differently. We were so lucky to have such a wonderful papa & father. He was such a prime example of unconditional love as he loved all his children and grandchildren equally and no separation existed between biological and stepchildren – even as the family grew over the years – it never was the case for grandchildren as well. He loved us all and we all felt loved in his presence.

Rick was a devoted and loving husband to Marie. He was a warm- loving and secure partner for Marie. They felt lucky and grateful to have one another for 32 years. Rick was patient and provided a steady love that was understanding and caring…. from there -their relationship grew. They enjoyed so many good years together & many animals; and he even overlooked Marie’s abundance of strays that magically appeared over the years. They had many of the same passions and shared many beautiful memories on their farm.  He was ever giving to his wife- he always knew she was his fierce protector and loved him unconditionally and he did her as well. Together they created a love that carried them through the ups and downs of life. To put it simply: They were there for each other until the end.

Rick was especially a friend. If he started talking to you and you didn’t know him; it is probably likely by the end of the conversation you may be related through an extended family member or a friend of a friend through his many acquaintances in his line of work or the network of his friendships over the years. He never met a stranger. Even if he did it was never for long. He had a soft spot for making children’s dreams of riding horses come true and always seemed to “show up” with horses to see children’s faces light up! Much of the family who would come to the annual fall parties at Rick and Marie’s might wonder about a certain family they had never seen before that was invited – only to learn Papa knew she was a single parent at bread stop “he used to catch” and her kids would enjoy the fun. He always welcomed everyone and especially when he could help someone feel loved and welcomed. Connection was something Rick valued.  The world was always a little smaller in his world.  His friends that knew him realized the type of friend they had with Rick. Dependable, trustworthy, and fun-loving. He was always up for a fun time at family gatherings and any family gathering without him will never be the same. He was our rock. We loved to have family meals together and we will all cherish those times of some of the best days of our lives. We will miss his stories and the love of life he shared with us on a daily basis.

Rick was a protector. He loved his children and grandchildren. He made it a mission to keep a watchful eye over us all and be involved in each of their lives. In the last year, Papa had learned about Life 360 app, and it may have been one of the best inventions in regard to his being the “watchful protector” as he tracked all of us: our speeds and locations and our whereabouts. He was always making sure our cars were safe; our tires were good and making sure we knew how to protect ourselves. If ever his children or grandchildren were in harm or needed his advice; he would be the first to show and the first to listen. As witness to this protection, just days before Papa left us, he was teaching and guiding others on how to pump gas or telling a grandchild I saw you going over the speed limit on 360. I love you and you need to slow down. He cared for all of his family in such deep ways.

He loved to laugh and have fun. He was always up for a fun stretch of the truth with Nana or one of the grandkids or children. With Nana, he would never fail by joking with her about one of her animals or a circumstance that happened (which really did not). Countless times his harmless jokes have got us believing something happened, just for us to be laughing later. April Fool’s seemed to always have a joke to pull on one of us. Even just a month ago he felt up to pulling a couple by phone. He loved making people laugh and he enjoyed making people happy. He would often recall one night when he dressed like a ghost several years ago to scare a host of kids and the prank ended up knocking a door in. Yes, karma, sometimes was payback.

He listened, He talked us through, and He helped us see a positive light of most all difficult situations. He offered another way to see something when our vision was cloudy. He was a man of his word. If he said it, he followed through; that meant a lot to him. He supported us through our enduring journeys of this life by showing his love- no matter what we were experiencing. He supported our dreams. He helped us achieve them if he could. He walked with us through our stories of life. He was easy to talk to and always ready for us to lean on when we needed him. He was proud. He was never shy to tell us how happy he was for us or how proud he was that our joy was also his joy.

Rick “Daddy” “Papa” will always be remembered on how he changed our lives for the better. How he poured more life into ours and made our world a better place to be because of him.

The philosophy “live your life as your epitaph” means acting today in alignment with the legacy, values, and memories you want to leave behind. It is a call to live intentionally and authentically, rather than waiting for the end to define your story. Rick lived his life just as that; He was a legacy to us all to use as examples of what it means to be a husband, a father, and grandfather. If we go forth with anything left from his life in ours, let us go forward with the love he demonstrated by loving family with no boundaries and understanding to live life intentionally as an epitaph with purpose and love. He will now be laid to rest at the very church he and Marie were married at on Jan. 1, 1995.

He is survived by his wife Marie Luther Dudley, his children, Scott Christy (Christina), Jessica James (Craig), Shelly Wood (Chris), Crystal Blanc, Selena Beard Harris (Fiance, Mike Orr), brother, Tom Dudley (Diane), his sisters, Barbara Whitt (Johnny), Carol Fielder, grandchildren, Jack Christy (Emilee), Molly Cloninger (Tagen), Libby Harbold, Conner Harbold, Stephen James, Amanda Chase, Ledger Chase, Hawkins Winstead, Coley Wood, Luca Blanc, Brock Harris, Cooper Harris, and Hillary Harris, great-grandchildren, Daniel Christy, Elliyah Chase, Axel Chase.