Richard R. “Dick” Mccall

Richard Ray (Dick) McCall 87, of Newton died Wednesday May 29^th, 2019.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Trinity Heights United Methodist Church, 1200 Boyd Ave., Newton KS, on Sunday, June 2, 2019 at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests memorials to either Trinity Heights United Methodist Church or the South Central Community Foundation and may be sent in care of Petersen Funeral Home.

He was born to S. E. and Ruth McCall on July 12^th, 1931 in El Dorado, KS.  He married Barbara Findley on May 8, 1954 in Lawrence KS, and for 65 wonderful years they shared a beautiful life together.  Father to Marc McCall (Lori) of Elizabeth, CO and Becky Galloway (Gary Janzen) of Wichita. Grandfather to Scott McCall (Natalie) of Nashville, TN, Connor Galloway (Madison) of Kansas City, MO, Leah McCall of Los Angeles, CA and Cameron Galloway of Bentonville, AR. He is also survived by his brother Victor McCall of Ft. Worth, TX and sister, Carolyn Hargis of Shawnee Mission, KS as well as many nieces and nephews.

Dick graduated from Newton High School in 1949, and as class President worked to maintain class connections throughout his life. He then went to the University of Kansas where he was an active member of Delta Upsilon and met his wife Barbara. After college, he joined the US Air Force during the Korean War.

Following his service, he and Barbara returned to Newton to begin work in the family shoe business.  McCall’s Shoes grew from Newton to also include Wichita, Emporia, Manhattan, Pittsburg and Lawrence.  He also developed a mail order shoe business that sold ladies shoes across the world. While running the shoe stores he earned a pilot’s license to carry stock between stores.  After retiring from the shoe business, he and Barbara traveled to over 5 continents and 30 countries, especially enjoying China, Italy, and Switzerland.

Dick was an award-winning photographer who was featured in several exhibitions and publications, an avid golfer, a Kansas Jayhawks sports fan, and was also consistently involved in every aspect of the community.  He was a member of the Newton Lions club for more than 50 years, served as president and fund drive chairman for the first Newton tornado sirens, delivered Meals-on-Wheels for 30 years, and was a charter member of the Trinity Heights United Methodist Church. Dick chaired the building committee for the original Church building and served on the church board for many years. He was the president of Prairie View Mental Health Center, Central Kansas Community Foundation, and the Newton Medical Center Foundation. He organized the Railer 100th Celebration and raised national awareness for Newton through a featured article in the US News and World Report magazine. He was actively involved in campaigns that culminated in the construction of Newton High School, Newton Medical Center, and the new Sanctuary at Trinity Heights.  He was active member of the Board of Directors for all of these groups for many years.

He was recognized as an outstanding citizen by the community through these awards: Newton Jaycees- Distinguished Service Award, Kiwanis- Citizen of Year Award, Chamber Citizen of Year -1994, Lions Club International- Melvin Jones Fellow, Harvey County Economic Development Council- Certificate of Appreciation, Newton Fine Arts Association- Certificate of Appreciation, Kansas-NEA – Honor Award, Newton Chamber of Commerce- Outstanding Service as Chairman of the Board, Delta Upsilon- Meritorious Service Award, Board of Education- Distinguished Service Award, Prairie View- Distinguished Service Award.

The citation from his induction into the Newton High School Hall of Fame in 2011 included the following:

“Dick McCall’s legacy of leadership and community service are unsurpassed, and continue up to the present.  His generosity and influence have hugely impacted the community and helped shape it into the caring, progressive, high-quality home town that it is today.”