Richard DeLane Layton was born August 20, 1922, in Menchtown, Pennsylvania, to Edgar and Eunice (Clark) Layton. He died September 29, 2012, at the Clyde Cosper Texas State Veterans Home in Bonham, Texas. He married Velta Odle in McKinney, Texas, on Christmas Day 1942 and was preceded in death by her in 1997. His second wife, Lillian Clark Layton, died in 2003. He is survived by two daughters, Kay Layton Sisk and husband Dana of Bonham and Reverend Nancy DeLane Shepherd and husband Bill of Griffin, Georgia; grandsons, Matthew Sisk and wife Mary and their children Emily and Jack, also Daniel Sisk and wife Casey, all of Dallas and Toni Page and husband Tim Kraska of Sammamish, Washington.
Richard’s greatest joys were in his family, his church, his vocation and his country. Following an ad in the back of a magazine, he joined the Army Air Corps at the age of 18 and hoped to be a pilot. When that dream was dashed because he was found to be color-blind, something he had not known, he trained to be an airplane mechanic. Eventually, he would follow Patton across Europe fixing downed planes between the American and German front lines. After the war he settled in McKinney, Texas. In the early 1960s, he bought the business where he worked, Air Cooled Engine Supply, today operating as Layton’s Place.
He was a 32nd degree Mason and a member of the First Presbyterian Church of McKinney. He enjoyed golf, was particularly proud of his hole-in-one just hours before his heart attack, loved to fish, and had nothing better to do than to be with his grandchildren as they were growing up. His infectious smile will be missed by the nursing staff at the Clyde Cosper.
A family graveside service will be held at 2:30 p.m., on Wednesday, October 3, at Ridgeview Memorial Park in Allen, Texas, under the direction of Turrentine-Jackson-Morrow Funeral Home. In lieu of flowers, the family asks donations be made to your charity of choice.