Age 85 - Mar 15, 2017
Posted by: Martha Reddout
Richard A Elms
Age 85 - Mar 15, 2017
Posted by: Martha Reddout
Richard A. Elms, 85, of Cerritos, California, passed away March 15, 2017, after a brief illness. Born and raised along Route 66 in Erick, OK, Dick grew up working at his father’s Chevrolet dealership and graduated from Erick High School in 1949. He then attended the University of Oklahoma, receiving degrees in engineering and being honored as a recipient of the gold Letzeiser award. Dick was a member of NROTC, the Sigma Chi fraternity and president of the IFC while at OU. After OU, Dick served with the US Marine Corps and rose to the rank of Captain.
After leaving the Marines and a stint as a newspaper editor in Indiana, Dick moved his family to Anaheim, CA to work for Beckman Corp. It was while at Beckman that Dick’s interest in the nascent container shipping industry would grow into an entrepreneurial career in transportation that stretched for 40 years. He co-founded and served as president of ContainerFreight, which operated the first container freight shipping (CFS) terminal in Long Beach, and worked with container shipping companies from all over the globe.
Dick was an avid first day cover stamp collector and loved to drive his 1974 MGB when he wasn’t tinkering with it in his garage. He was most happy enjoying his beloved OU Sooners athletics, hearing his grandchildren’s stories of the day and listening to jazz, blues and bluegrass music.
Richard was preceded in death by his mother and father, Bill and Merle Elms, and his eldest son, Christopher.
Survivors are his brother, Arvil Ming of Gainesville, Florida, daughter, Terry Lindsay and her husband Robert Lindsay, of Locust Valley, New York; son Steven Elms and his wife Katherine, of New York, New York; son Patrick Elms and his wife Judy of San Diego, California; stepson Alexander Faraon and his wife Trinh of Cerritos, California, and 10 grandchildren.
Graveside Service
Saturday, April 01, 2017
12:00 PM
Erick Cemetery