Richard A. Wilkey

Richard Wilkey, 77, of West Des Moines, born April 20, 1940, in Indianapolis, Indiana, died peacefully of cancer on April 22, 2017 at Kavanagh House in Des Moines. A celebration of Richard’s life will be held at Hamilton’s on Westown Parkway, 3601 Westown Parkway in West Des Moines on Thursday, April 27 at 2:00 p.m. Family will greet friends following the service.

Richard was the son of Helen (Spitzer) Wilkey and Rollie Richard Wilkey. When war broke out and a polio scare closed his nursery school, Richard’s mom took a job in an electroplating company to support the family and sent her only child to be raised by his grandparents and doting aunts on a farm in southern Illinois. There he developed a lifelong love of hunting and fishing and the value of hard work. Though no stranger to challenges and failures, his most common characteristics were perseverance and success.

Richard earned a BA in political science from North Central College and later earned a Master’s in the same subject from the University of Illinois. As a college student, he participated in a semester program at American University in Washington D.C. While there, Richard attended the inauguration of John F. Kennedy, an experience that influenced his decision to enter public service and his dedication to working to improve the lives of those in need.

In 1966, he married Joyce Lauck. They had two sons, Andrew and Ryan. Richard was fiercely loyal to his boys throughout his life.

Richard moved to Des Moines in 1966 where he became the Assistant to the City Manager. He then served as City Manager from 1974 through 1985. During his tenure, Richard oversaw the revitalization of downtown Des Moines, improved and professionalized city management and operations blending strategy with limited public resources to focus private investment. The groundwork Richard laid continues to influence Des Moines today. Later, Richard worked for the Weitz Company, first as Executive Vice President and then as President of Life Care Services, a Weitz subsidiary.

Richard was also known for his time as President of the Racing Association of Central Iowa. After a local horse track development had failed, Richard took it over and reorganized it as a public non-profit dedicated to raising funds for charity and community improvement. He personally headed the effort to finance, construct, open and operate the track. He viewed the effort as his contribution to the community which had supported him. Prairie Meadows has returned over $1 billion to public and charitable projects and programs over the past 25 years.

In 2001, Richard married Claudia Henning. Throughout their marriage, Richard supported Claudia as she pioneered the Youth Justice Initiative – he was her biggest fan! Claudia describes Richard as thoughtful, determined – sometimes stubborn – tenacious to the point of clarity, unafraid, loyal, SMART, kind, frugal, patient (especially with her), forgiving and complex. Together they travelled extensively, spending many happy times in Hawaii and abroad. Richard enjoyed and admired Claudia’s daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren and rejoiced in hearing stories about their lives and adventures.

Richard’s political acumen surfaced again in 2004 when he heard Barack Obama give his first speech at the Democratic National Convention. Aided by his wife Claudia, his sister-in-law Chris and a strong group of volunteers that he recruited, Richard campaigned tirelessly for Obama's presidential bid. He was delighted to attend President Obama’s 2008 Inauguration with Claudia, her daughter Nicole, and Nicole’s now-husband Andrew.

After he retired, Richard thoroughly enjoyed his work on the board of Casey's General Stores. His strategic focus and skill in identifying and developing leaders made him a valued member of the Casey’s team. Additionally, Richard appointed himself director of pizza performance, sampling the goods whenever he happened upon a Casey’s.

In addition to his professional pursuits, Richard was a voracious reader, avid upland game hunter and loved nothing more than a good, intellectual conversation.

Richard was a regular participant in the Plymouth Congregational UCC Tuesday AMEN's Study Group where his inquisitive mind inspired challenging dialogues. Richard’s understanding of spirituality was reflected in the words of Einstein: “I believe that we have to content ourselves with our imperfect knowledge and understanding and treat values and moral obligations as a purely human problem – the most important of all human problems.”

Richard is survived by his wife, Claudia Henning; son Andrew (Jennifer) Wilkey and their children Isaac, Claire, Everett and Nolan of Minnetonka, MN; son Ryan (Zoie) Wilkey and their children Tanner and Gracia of Longmont, CO; step-daughters Andrea (Kirk) Klopfenstein and their children Courtney, Kiera, Kendra and Caden of Maple Grove, MN and Nicole (Andrew) Di Schino and their children Clara and Camille of Brooklyn, NY; sisters-in-law Chris Henning, Carlotta Wilde, Anita Tigue, Ethyl St Peter, and their families; first cousins, Paul and Marcia Rexroat, and Millie Murphy and their families; and a multitude of friends from around the country.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Friends of Youth Justice Initiative (www.friendsofyji.org).

Condolences may be expressed at www.HamiltonsFuneralHome.com.

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