David Ricke Aug 21, 1942-Aug 9, 2026
How does one sum up an entire life’s experience into a few paragraphs? Dave Ricke was an absolute legend. He was a loving husband, amazing father, loyal friend, and faithful servant. David was fiercely loved by his family and community and he will be missed.
David Louis Ricke was born and raised in Greensburg, In in 1942. He developed a deep lifelong love of farming and animals. David attended Purdue University where he studied agriculture and played football. Upon graduation, David served in the US Army in Germany and Vietnam. a season of his life he loved to refer to as keeping America free for democracy. It is in this service and sacrifice that David earned a Purple Heart.
Upon his return, David met the love of his life, Susan Spengeman Ricke. What followed was a lifetime of love and laughter spanning 58 years. Together, they had four daughters, Stephanie, Elizabeth, Sarah, and Emily. David’s legacy lives on in the ways they reflect his character.
It would be remiss to note that while David resided in Decatur County, much of his heart belonged to Pawhuska, OK. Dave met Chuck Drummond as a young boy through his dad’s farm business. What ensued was a lifetime of shenanigans that weirdly often included fire. The Drummond boys–Todd, Tim, and Ladd—were like sons to him, and David took great joy in bringing the Ricke and Drummond families together as one.
While David’s career began on his family farm, later in life he and Susie started a successful environmental consulting business. He was fond of describing his career as a “world renowned chicken sh*# expert.” David received many awards in his professional life, culminating with his induction into the Brookside Laboratory’s Hall of Fame.
Raising four girls seemed to come easy to him. David attended their events, endured endless band, cheer and dance practices at home and made sure his girls knew he could be counted on. While at times he excelled at discipline, David also had a softer side that provided unwavering love and invaluable wisdom. David had a quiet strength in his foundation of faith in God. He was raised in the Catholic faith and joined the Greensburg United Methodist Church later in life, where he was active in ministries. David absolutely loved to cook and shared his gifts for large events, including the Emmaus Walk, the Optimist Booth at the Fair, and the YMCA. You could often find him by his well-loved cooker making pulled pork BBQ.
David Ricke was just generally a person you wanted to be around. He was a master storyteller, occasionally fun at parties (but at times just smiling on the inside), and a loyal supporter of those he loved. David was, above all, a man who showed up for his family, his community, and for anyone needing some words of wisdom or a good story to inspire a chuckle (even if you had already heard it several times). That is how he will be remembered.
David is survived by his wife, Susie Ricke, and his four daughters Stephanie Ricke, Elizabeth (Kevin) Marshall, Sarah (Seth) Hellmich, and Emily (Franklin) Nowlin. His grandchildren include Grayson and Jonah Hellmich, Cooper Marshall, DaLaney, Sydney, Tierney, Nora, Addie, and Brantley (Erin) Nowlin, with great grandson Tommy. David also had a small host of loving extended family. David was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Lois Ricke and his sister, Susan Ricke Wallace.
In keeping with David’s (very strong) wishes, there will not be a funeral service. Instead, we will be having a big party to celebrate his life and legacy on the evening of Nov 7th at the Fairgrounds Community Building. If you would like to honor David’s memory, please direct contributions the Greensburg United Methodist Church or the building fund for a new animal shelter in care of the Friends of the Greensburg & Decatur County Animal Shelter. Online condolences can be made to the family at www.gilliland-howe.com