Thomas Richard Tyree

Thomas Richard Tyree of Burleson, Texas, who went to sleep until that great day of the
Resurrection on March 14, 2024, was born May 4th, 1944 in Washington D.C. District of
Columbia, the firstborn son of Oretha Esther (née Tolley) of Tolleytown near Surveyor, WV and
Theodore “Ted” Thomas Tyree of Raleigh County near Sweeneysburg, WV. He spent most of
his childhood living in nearby Beckley, WV.
Richard joined the US Army in 1961 and saw active duty in Germany and on the Korean
Peninsula. In the late spring of 1963 he boarded a bus headed for his next assignment at Fort
Hood, Texas. On this bus ride he met Dorothy Teresa “Susie” Lucas of Hagerstown, Maryland.
They were married on October 7, 1963 in Fort Worth, Texas. Richard worked as a Washington
D.C. police officer, a teamster, and a shop foreman at American Manufacturing before starting a
career with the Hall Bearing Company, eventually retiring from Precision Industries in 2014.
After living in Washington DC, Fort Worth and Hurst, Texas, in the Spring of 1971 they adopted
the first of two sons from the Edna Gladney Home, followed by a second adoption in the
Summer of 1973. They eventually settled the family in Keller, Texas in the winter of 1977 and
lived there until her death in 2003; they were married 40 years.
Richard married Judy Duckett of Burleson, Texas on October 7, 2007. They were united in love,
laughter, and faith, and he inherited her large and vibrant family. Together they enjoyed building
a combined household, traveling, and serving together at St Matthew Church (now Pathway
Church) in Burleson, their infectious smiles and kindness greeting attendees for the Saturday
night service. He loved talking about his faith and how much God had done in his life and he
shared that joy with Judy. Even while suffering in the depth of his disease, he had a wonderfully
lucid day where he shared his love of Christ and Judy, smiling a lot. His favorite pastime had
always been being next to the love of his life, holding her hand, speaking words of reassurance,
and enjoying ice cream together.
Richard was a faithful Christian, enjoyed fishing, golf, stamp collecting, photography (which was
a shared interest with Judy), technology, wood working, traveling, and was an enthusiastic
Dallas Cowboys fan.
Richard is preceded in death by his father Ted (1988), grand-daughter Falishia (1993), his first
wife Susie (2003), his mother Oretha (2009), great-grandson Alexander (2016), and his younger
brother John Tyree Sr. (2019).
Richard is survived by his wife Judy, sons and their spouses, Preston and Jodi Tyree and Lance
Tyree and Christy Hayden of Fort Worth, step-sons Tori and Darrell Duckett of Burleson, step
daughters Nike’ and Julie, sister and brother in law, Jimmie and Lail Looper of Alvarado, twelve
grandchildren; Kalem, TJ, Damien, Koree, Darra, Kierstene, Mariah, Chandler, Tori, Emma,
Holdyn, and Natalie, 17 great-grandchildren, and two irritating chihuahuas!
The family would like to thank all the Alevcare staff, especially the amazing caretakers Connie
and Yvonne, for their care and love of Richard and Judy.

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