Donald C Richards was born January 31, 1945, in Akron, Ohio. He was the only son of Pauline P'Poole and was raised by his grandparents, Claude and Lucille P'Poole. He is survived by his wife Pamela McMillian, daughter Robin Eissler, (Trevor Eissler), daughter Cheryl Blatz (Lee Blatz), son John Walker (Shannon Walker), stepdaughter Aimee Carreno, and grandchildren Dustin Walker, Melissa Walker, Jennifer Yates, Oliver Eissler, Ellie Eissler, Evan Eissler, Sebastian Carreno, Julian Carreno, Julia McMillian, Brantley McMillian, great-grandson Noah McMillian, and his beloved canine companion, Beau. He loved his family and took great pleasure in fulfilling his role as husband, Dad and Grandad.

He graduated from Akron East High School in 1963 and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed." He went on to study Pre-Med and Business at The Ohio State University. Don was always an entrepreneur and had several printing businesses before he graduated from high school. With his early success in the printing industry, he was able to earn his pilot's license and buy a Cessna 172. This started his career in Aviation that spanned more than fifty years. He started at Lane Aviation at the Port Columbus airport and then moved to Dayton, Ohio to manage a large Cessna dealership. He went on to start several new businesses including Miller-Richards Aircraft and Don Richards Aircraft Sales. In 1994, he joined the sales team at Atlanta Jet and went on to found Allied Jet with several partners. In 1999, he joined forces with his daughter Robin to found Jet Quest, Inc., and his son John soon joined the family business as well. He was trusted by many in the aviation business and always considered his word more valuable than any contract. Through his years of selling airplanes, he logged more than 5,000 flight hours and was an ATP-rated commercial pilot. He was also type-rated in the King Air 300/350 series.

Don was the life of the party! Always smiling, his door was always open to help others. He shared his enthusiasm with everyone he met. He was passionate about airplanes, boats, Jimmy Buffet and dogs, sometimes all of them at once! It was not uncommon for him to fly an airplane to a location from which to drive a boat, with Jimmy Buffet music cranked up, while accompanied by a family dog. He introduced many to "boat life" and loved to spend a day on the water, especially cruising up and down the intracoastal in Florida. And speaking of dogs, it would be impossible to talk about Don without mentioning his four-legged friends from over the decades: Pepper, Ike, Tiny, Buffy, Chase, Barnes, Noble, Bunnie, Clyde, Raine, and Beau.

A Toast to Life will be held July 13, 2024, at Georgetown Airpark at 6:30pm, 10779 Hwy 29 East, Georgetown, TX 78626. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation in his name to your local animal shelter and take a moment to share the NFPA 150 Fire and Life Safety In Animal Housing Facilities Code with your local animal shelter, veterinary office and boarding facility. NFPA 150 was recently updated as a result of the fire that took the lives of his precious puppies Bunnie and Clyde.