In Loving Memory of Richard Wallace Devon
Richard Wallace Devon, 72, of Marietta, Georgia, passed away unexpectedly, but peacefully, on
Sunday, June 19, 2022. A "Celebration of Life" service was held on Monday, June 27, at 12:00
noon, at Wesley Chapel United Methodist Church, Marietta, Georgia. A Visitation Reception
was held at 11:00 am prior to the service. The Burial with Military Honors was held after the
service at the Georgia National Cemetery in Canton, Georgia.
Richard was born in Washington, D. C., on September 16, 1949, to the late Edward Buffington
Devon and Connie Delcie (Wallace) Devon. Along with his parents, Richard is preceded in
death by two brothers, Donald Edward Devon and Lynn Charles Devon. Richard is survived by
his wife, Jerri Smith Devon; his daughter, Alexandria M. Devon; one grandson, Noah Edward
Devon; and many cherished extended family members and close friends, all of whom Richard
loved dearly.
Following are words shared at Richard's "Celebration of Life," which reflect his life's journey ...
so full of life, laughter and love:
Richard was born to a military family and lived in many different cities growing up. He was the
middle son of three boys, and, according to his mother, he definitely was the mischievous one!
And according to his wife, still was! But his mother also said as mischievous as he was, he
always loved people, and the feeling was mutual ... everyone seemed to love him! And his wife
says ... they still do!
Richard's dad, Edward B. Devon, was a bomber pilot during World War 11, based in England
and flew numerous combat missions. After the war, he was the pilot for General Dwight
Eisenhower. Richard was very proud of his father. Since his dad had to be away from home
much of the time, his mother, Connie, did most of the raising of the boys by herself... and it
seems she was quite the disciplinarian.
After a few years of college, Richard joined the Air Force and was in active duty for four years.
His favorite assignment was Japan and talked about it often. After coming home, a few years
later he joined the Georgia Air National Guard, and retired 20 years later as a Master Sargent
E-7. He loved all types of military aircraft. While at Dobbins Air Force Base, he was with the
116th Tactical Fighter Wing and was a Crew Chief on the F-15 Eagle. When they transferred to
Robins AFB later in his career, he was in the 116th Bomb Wing and was Crew Chief for the B-1
Bomber. He loved his military career, was very proud to be a service member, and made many
life-long friends.
Richard's career on the civilian side was with the Federal Government, first with the Social
Security Administration and then the Department of Health and Human Services, where he
worked with Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. He retired from the U.S. Government in
2004 with 35 years of service. After this retirement, he started working with a private company
out of Texas, Smith Systems, where he was a safe driving instructor for Fortune 500
companies. He enjoyed that job for 14 years.
During this time Richard was also a big supporter of Georgia Special Olympics. He
volunteered as a softball coach, among many other sports, for many years. He was the
President of the Cobb County Special Olympics Committee from 1994-1996. His Special
Olympians always held a dear place in his heart, and he made many very close friends there,
athletes as well as coaches.

Richard was a very loving father, grandfather and husband. In 1972 Richard's daughter, Alex,
was born. He adored her from day one and every other day of her life. Sixteen years ago his
grandson, Noah, was born... and he hung the moon! These two were the world to Richard and
he so looked forward to their visits and his trips to visit them in Austin, Texas. He was so very
proud of both. Richard taught Noah to drive as a toddler in his lap in his red golf cart, which
Noah always loved. Richard and his wife Jerri have been married for 33 years now, and she
says it's been QUITE the ride, to say the least.
One of Richard's best life-long buddies shared these thoughts:
"To know Richard is to love Richard." Although he could be crabby and irritable at the blink of
an eye, those of us who knew him well always knew down deep, he was a loving, affable
person who loved intensely so many people and so many things. He loved children!! He loved
every child he would see and would go out of his way to meet them, greet them, speak with
them and enjoy them. He had a very special way in which he interacted with them, and they all
loved him after their first meeting. He loved animals, and especially dogs. On any given day
you could see Richard riding around his neighborhood with dogs and kids hanging off his golf
cart in every direction.
— Friendship ... this is where Richard excelled. To be able to call someone a friend is
monumental and a gift. Richard was a friend to the world. There was no one more in this
world that was a friend like Richard. He was the most loyal and loving and true friend anyone
could ever have. A true friend is someone that was always there and would not expect
anything in return. No matter what his plans were, if you called him, he would cancel his plans,
lose any money that was already paid, would drop anything he was doing to be there for you.
This is a gift that is so precious and rare. Jesus said, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.
These remarkable words from OUR SAVIOR AND REDEEMER exemplified Richard as a man, a
husband, a father and a true friend.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in loving memory of Richard Devon to:
Cobb County Special Olympics (SOGA-COBB)
Windy Hill Community Center
1885 Roswell St. SE
Smyrna, GA. 30080.