Richard Coombs

Richard “Rich” H. Coombs went to be with the Lord on Monday, March 30.
He was born June 2, 1926 to Mary Ellen “Helen” Sargent Coombs and Richard Harman Coombs.
He was predeceased by his brother James, sisters Margaret, Eleanor, and Helen, and survived
by his sisters, Dorothy (Dot), Barbara, and Jean.
“Rich” enlisted in the US Navy during WWII and served in the first Naval Combat Demolition
Unit landing in the first wave on Omaha Beach on D-Day. He later would serve in the Pacific
front on the USS Sabik. He was awarded France’s highest military award, the Legion of Honor,
for his part in the liberation of France. Richard was a dedicated member of the Veterans of
Foreign Wars.
After the war, he married his childhood sweetheart, Alice Byrnes on December 7, 1946. They
had been married for 73 years. Together they would have three sons David (Linda), Richard
(Jody), and Timothy (Kathy). He was a loving and dedicated father.
They would move from the Bronx to Ozone Park to East Meadow, NY, then in retirement to
Palm Coast and Port Orange, FL, prior to moving to Hot Springs Village, AR.
Rich worked as a sheet metal mechanic for Lockheed Aircraft where he helped construct the
Constellation and the C-5 Galaxy. A few of his accomplishments were doing maintenance on Air
Force One, and special missions in Japan and Iran for the US government. After Lockheed, he
worked for American Airlines, Grumman, and ended his career with TWA.
Along with his wife Alice and their three sons and wives, Rich is survived by his six grandchildren
Tracey (Steve) Marek, Christopher (Cheri), Brandon (Jessica), Garrett (Natalie), Keith (Jess), and
Kyle, and, also by his great-grandchildren Seth, Alice, Annie, Rachel, Drew, Harper, Penelope,
and another on the way.
Rich was a loving and dedicated friend to many over the years and a dedicated Christian
throughout his life. He would talk to anyone he met and was trusting to a fault. Rich was known
in the family and with friends for his “heavy fork,” twenty minute jobs, and living by the adage if
“a little is good, a lot is better.” He respected authority and was the utmost rule follower. He
enjoyed fishing, watching movies, and cheering for the NY Mets.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the VFW, Port Orange, FL, the Good Samaritan
Society, Hot Springs Village, AR, or Trinity Presbyterian Church, Scotia, NY. Arrangements entrusted with CedarVale Funeral Home of the Hot Springs Village.