Richard Medlin

Richard Philip Medlin, 94, of Beaumont, died peacefully at his home on Sunday, July 7, 2019. He was blessed to have lived a long, full and healthy life surrounded by loving family, friends and caregivers.  Dick was born in 1924 to Ione and C. J. Medlin in Kansas City, Missouri. He loved growing up in Manhattan, Kansas where his father was a professor at Kansas State University.   Shortly after high school graduation, he joined the 14thArmy Air Corps. After completing training in meteorology and radio and radar engineering, Dick served in India during World War II. Returning to Manhattan after the war, he attended KSU, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in 1948 and a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering in 1949. Upon graduation, he moved to Beaumont as an employee of Magnolia Petroleum Co.

Dick met and married Florence Singletary of Beaumont in 1950.  They had 69 wonderful years together and three children. During his thirty-six year career with Magnolia, later Mobil Oil Corporation and finally Exxon Mobil, Dick held a number of management jobs in refining and marketing in Texas, New York, New Jersey and Virginia, including posts as manager of refineries in Paulsboro, New Jersey and, from 1968-1978, in Beaumont. 

Dick was an active member of every community in which he lived, serving with dedication on numerous boards and volunteering his time and resources.  In Beaumont he served on the boards of First National Bank, First United Methodist Church, the YMCA, the United Way and the Neches River Authority. For at least 30 years, Dick and Florence volunteered at Some Other Place, and Dick delivered for Meals on Wheels as well. 

A man of many interests, Dick was an avid reader, thinker, learner and hard worker.  He liked to solve problems and build things. His training in the military led to lifelong interests in the weather and in amateur radio. He and his brother built their own equipment and talked daily to each other for 60 years, as well as to other radio enthusiasts around the world.  Dick played basketball in high school and college, and tennis and golf throughout his life.  Gardening was another interest, one he pursued with great enthusiasm and scientific inquiry. He loved sailing, fishing and travel, especially family trips in the car. Dick and Florence drove most of the small roads of the United States at least once. He loved sharing funny stories of his childhood in small town America.  Above all, Dick was a wonderful husband, father and brother, ever devoted to his family.  They will remember him for his kindness, honesty, generosity, intelligence and sense of humor. 

Survivors include his wife and best friend, Florence Medlin, of Beaumont; daughters, Rose Ann Medlin and her husband, William E. Joor III, of Houston; Mary Florence Wescoat and her husband, James, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; son, Dr. Richard P. Medlin, Jr. of Ann Arbor, Michigan; grandchildren, Catherine Syler Joor and Ruth Lee Wescoat and her husband, Chris Cassidy.

He is preceded in death by his parents, and brother, Roger C. Medlin.

The family gives special thanks to Dick’s caregivers, Joy Durgin, Lisa Sonnier, Pauline Richardson, Frankie Elliott, Martha Jackson, Sheckita Arline, Tara Woods, Lanae Johnson and Margaret Baltimore, for their help and kindness.

Mr. Medlin’s Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 p.m., Saturday, July 13, 2019, at First United Methodist Church, 701 Calder Avenue, Beaumont. His cremation arrangements were handled through Broussard’s Crematorium, Beaumont. The family requests, with gratitude, that any memorial contribution be made to, Some Other Place, 590 Center St., Beaumont, TX 77701, First United Methodist Church, 701 Calder, Beaumont, TX 77701 or to a charity of one’s choice.