Richard Austin Plank

Richard Austin Plank, beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend, passed away peacefully on June 10, 2023, at the age of 56.

Richard was well-loved by everyone who knew him. Friendly, intelligent, creative, and always willing to help with a project or an idea brought to him. He loved to cook and experiment in the kitchen as well and everyone always looked forward to his green beans at Thanksgiving because they were always something special and never the same twice.

Richard was born in Colorado in 1966 but started school in Texas graduating from New Caney in 1985. He then went on to Texas A&M where he studied a variety of subjects including Architecture and Parks & Recreation. While at A&M, he founded a fraternity. He finished up his education at a Technical School where he learned to program. Always up for an adventure, Richard moved out to Phoenix, Arizona with his sister Jeanie in 1992, but when she returned to Texas in 1994, Richard stayed and enjoyed a rich life there. He worked various jobs, eventually ending up with D squared where he programmed the CNC lasers. Some of his work ended up on the Mars Rover. Richard was offered to become a partner in the D squared business and was mostly involved in the production end of the company. He bought a house in Mesa Arizona and got involved with competitive ballroom dancing, and he LOVED to play pool, helping to establish a competitive pool league in the Phoenix/Mesa area.

Richard moved back to Conroe Texas in 2013 at the request of his father, Dick Plank, where he spent the last 10 years of his life helping his dad by learning and running the CNC milling machines at their fabrication shop in Cleveland Texas. Richard had an excellent mind for problem-solving and was always up for whatever challenge their customers brought him. He and his father designed and built a tool they called a V-Block which they patented and have sold to other machine shops and large plant tooling companies which allows for the much easier manipulation and tooling of very large, heavy pieces, saving them tons of time and labor.

Richard was a gentle soul, kind, and caring, with a ready smile and twinkle in his eye. Never married, he had a heart for his sisters (who he loved to pick on) and his nieces and nephews. He would go out of his way to participate in whatever kooky idea they had come up with however he could help. Inventive, he liked to solve problems by building something unique, like the custom picnic table he built for The Grounds that had individual seats that could be stored up underneath. It allows older people and heavier people like himself a much easier place to sit and makes it easier to mow and weed-eat around without having to move it. At the request of Jeanie and Jessie, he also built a very sturdy double-sided swing for The Grounds that has become a favorite of everyone and the kids love to play on it.

Richard is survived by his mother and step-father, Nelda Faye and Clayton Solsbery, his father, Richard (Dick) Jay Plank, his sisters Jeanie James and Kristie Franco, his step-siblings, Kevin Solsbery, Dana Asher, Susan Faulkner, Kim Bates, David (Shorty) Reynolds, and his beloved nieces and nephews, Jessica M Stevens, David W James, Frank (Tommy) T James, Bella James, Sofia Franco, and Abigail Franco.

He was much loved by all and will be sorely missed.