Obituary of Poole, Richard

Richard S. Poole was born on December 23, 1925, in Hominy, Oklahoma, the son of a Presbyterian minister. During World War II, he served as a fleet communications officer with the U.S. Navy. His last assignment was with Joint Task Force 1 during the first A-Bomb tests at the Bikini Atoll. After the war, he married his high school sweetheart, Lois Williams. He completed his undergraduate and divinity degrees at TCU and went on to serve as a Presbyterian minister in Oklahoma. In the late 1950’s, he changed careers and moved his family to Dallas where he was hired by Robert Dedman at CCA (now ClubCorp). Over the next forty years, he rose to the position of Senior Executive Vice President where he was responsible for developing city clubs in the U.S. as well as internationally. He also started and was the editor of the award winning luxury magazine, Private Clubs. Richard treasured spending time with his family, growing orchids and collecting fine wines. Richard passed away peacefully of natural causes on June 8, 2017, surrounded by his family. The family expresses sincere gratitude to Jochen Bender, a business associate who became a life-long friend; Dr. Tom Newsome and Dr. Stuart Owen, for their medical care of both Richard and Lois over many years; the staff at Edgemere where he spent the last years of his life; and, to Betty Estle for her friendship and companionship. He was preceded in death by his wife, Lois, and his brother, Tom. He is survived by his five children, Richard VanPoole (wife Barbara), Pam Adams (husband Jim), Susie Duggan (husband Lee), Debbie Tunnell (husband TR), Kathy Bateman (husband Mark), his 12 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. A service celebrating his life will be held on Saturday, June 17, 2017, at 11:00 a.m. at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, 9800 Preston Road, Dallas, Texas. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Parkinson Voice Project (in honor of Richard’s son), Parkinsonvoiceproject.org or to the Monie Pastoral Resident Fund at Preston Hollow Presbyterian Church, www.phpc.org. Please leave the family condolences and share memories on this website.