Richard William Kemper

On Thursday, December 28th at 0530 Pacific Time, Richard William Kemper entered the heavenly realms to be with our Lord and Savior. He leaves behind his wife Diana Kemper, children Michael (Micah) Kemper and Jennell (Gary) Van Dyke, son-in-law Vernon (Courtney) Wagner and grandchildren Isabel and Rosie Kemper, Aaron Van Dyke, and Michael and Sydney Wagner as well as many other family members and friends. Richard was preceded in death by his father, mother, and brother John. Many friends referred to Richard by his nickname, "Catfish". When you show up to school after an early morning fishing stop at the local Musselshell river with your bounty of Catfish, the nickname (he wore like a badge of honor) sticks.

Richard was born in Porterville, California on October 27th, 1955. He was one of six siblings raised by his mother, Betty Hagstrom. Richard didn't always have a great relationship with his father, but he had a positive male figure in his Uncle Woodrow Weitzeil who Richard looked up to. In 1970 Betty moved her family to the Musselshell, MT area. Richard graduated high school from Roundup in 1975. After graduation Richard enlisted in the United States Coast Guard before returning to the Roundup, MT area once his service was over. In 1982 he met and married Kathy Rutan. They were married for 19 years and raised two children together, Michael and Jennell.

In 2006 Richard met Diana Wagner. They married in 2011 in Reno, Nevada. During their 12-year marriage, Richard and Diana built a loving life together living in Carlin, NV and Ocean City, WA.

If there was one word to describe Richard, it would have to be, "Servant". The majority of his life was spent serving others. Richard proudly served his country in the United States Coast Guard from 1976-1980 as a Boatswain's Mate, 3rd Class, where he was stationed on the East Coast from Cape Cod to Cuba. He served Musselshell County and the community of Roundup, MT as a volunteer firefighter from 1983 to 1997, and also served as an EMT with the Musselshell County Ambulance from 1990-2007. During that time Richard responded to roughly 1600 ambulance calls. Richard served his community in a variety of other ways, such as driving school bus and activity buses for Roundup Public Schools.

While balancing as a servant and a supporter for his family, Richard worked many jobs such as a mechanic, driller (water and roughneck), and truck driver. While he was a mechanic at Elite Tune and Lube, he also helped operate the tow trucks. He was a jack of all trades and always worked hard for his family. In fact, Richard oftentimes sold cords of firewood on the side to bring in a little extra money.

With the little free time Richard had, he enjoyed many outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting. He liked the occasional football game. He enjoyed a nice seafood dinner. However, what Richard loved most was his family. He loved traveling with his wife, Diana. He loved supporting and spending time with his children and grandchildren as well.

Richard was an organ donor but unfortunately his organs could not be harvested. However, he donated his skin for recipients such as burn victims. Richard will be cremated and a celebration of life is expected to take place in Summer of 2024. He will be greatly missed as he lit up every room he walked into, family and friends looked forward to his calls and texts as he was always such a positive man and joy to be around.