"A man – every inch a man –" died in St. Peters, Missouri September 6 ^th , 2021. He was "... a man out of the ordinary. No one ever heard him boast of his courage or any other fact connected with himself. With his friends and those whom he loved he was kind, gentle and his heart soft. Not often does such a man appear among us and we should hold him in high honor."

These words were written in 1905 in an article about Richard's great, great grandfather Capt. John Samuel Thomason – a Missouri sheriff and a veteran of the civil war. Yet the same sentiments could just as easily describe his descendant – a man of integrity and grace with innumerable talents and a deep, deep love for his family.

Richard was born on February 12 ^th , 1934 in Kansas City, Kansas to William and Cleda (Moreland) Daugherty. He won the cutest baby contest the following year in a local newspaper – the same paper, it should be known, where his father worked as a writer and copy editor. Nepotism aside, Richard grew into a handsome young man and during the early 1940's Bill, Cleda, Richard and younger brother Robert moved to St. Louis, Missouri and took up residency in the Lucas and Hunt Village Apartments. After Bill secured the position of chief copy editor for The St. Louis Post Dispatch they were able to afford a comfortable brick home on Forest Avenue in Overland, Missouri.

Richard attended school in the Ritenour district and excelled in music. He played in the band and orchestra and upon graduating from Washington University with a degree in music he returned to Ritenour where he became the orchestra teacher.

But Uncle Sam had other ideas and whisked him off to the army where he was plopped down in the steno pool because he was a whiz at typing – which got him out of the grueling first weeks of basic training. Then one day someone who knew his background told the head of the Army Band that Rich Daugherty was a musician. The sergeant in command asked him what instrument he played and Richard replied, "What do you need?" Within days he was transferred out of the steno pool and became a tuba player for The Army Band at Fort Knox, Kentucky.

It was there that he met the woman he knew he would marry. And he knew it the moment he laid eyes on her from across the room where he was tending bar for his friend, the host of the party. This guy had invited a local gal who was a real looker and a singer in the USO. He was introduced to JoAnn Schaefer from whom he stole a kiss that night and in less than a year the two were married and living in Overland, Missouri in a tiny one-bedroom apartment above a real estate office.

Richard and JoAnn were together for sixty-two years. They raised three children –  Kathleen Ann, William Allen II and Patricia Lynn – and later in life they doted on their five beautiful grandchildren and three adorable great-grandsons.

Richard Daugherty was an extraordinary musician. A jazz pianist who, during his nearly seventy years in the business, worked with some of the great names in the field of entertainment. Mel Tormé , Rosemary Clooney, Frankie Laine, Helen O'Connell, The Mills Brothers, Milton Berle and countless others. He was associated with the Johnny Polzin Orchestra as well as Russ David's outfit and the Carolbeth True Trio. Although his main claim to fame was that of one of St Louis's premiere pianists, sometime in the early 1970's he took up the electric bass. His reasoning was there were a lot of really good piano players in the area but they were often at the mercy of less-than-stellar rhythm sections. He liked having his fingers literally on the pulse of the ensembles with which he played when he gigged as a bassist and he continued to switch back and forth throughout the remainder of his career as a local musician.

Richard's piano tuner, Bernie Accardi, took him on as an apprentice after he had tried his hand at real estate, selling pianos and organs at Don Fette Music Center and even peddling Encyclopedia Britannicas from door to door. Whatever it took for him to earn a living he did because teaching didn't work out to be lucrative enough for him to provide for his young family. Bernie taught Richard the skills needed to become a piano technician which ultimately became his livelihood and fulfilled his wish to finally be his own boss. Richard – a 40-something gentleman with a balding pate and a dashing mustache and goatee – was a natural for the trade because of his keen ear and affinity for the piano. Richard Daugherty soon became the number one piano tuner in the St Louis area and remained so up until earlier this year when, at the age of eighty-seven, he decided it was at last time to retire. He had been the in-house tuner for Steinway for over twenty years. What he will long be remembered for is that, once Richard tuned a customer's piano, he would treat them to a mini-concert where they would sit in rapt attention as his hands graced the keys of their instrument. Loyal clients never failed to make their next appointment so that they could, once again, have a front row seat to experience his artistry.

This man was an extraordinary individual. He had a great love for cars and owned over forty-five of them in his lifetime as well as several motorcycles and a scooter. He could take an engine apart and put it back together again. He did all his own tune-ups and even replaced the floor of his 1965 MG one winter. He was handy with tools and had expert carpentry skills as well as prowess in the realm of electrical and plumbing. He custom detailed the garages of every home he owned and even refinished the basement of his last – all on his own. He was an avid reader and devoted most of his focus to the study of metaphysics and the power of the mind. Richard was smart and frugal and managed his money successfully and was able to move his family from a tiny house in St. Ann to the Carrollton Oaks subdivision in Bridgeton and then to Claymont Lake Estates in Chesterfield in 1978. Later, when their nest was empty, JoAnn and Richard built a ranch home out in Wildwood, customizing it to their wishes and allowing for Richard to have an oversized four-car rear-entry garage. JoAnn finally got her screened-in porch and Richard got his man cave.

In February of 2021, after many weeks in the hospital, Richard's beloved JoAnn was brought home where she was surrounded by her entire family and there she spent her final few days. In early June of this year, with the help of his children and grandchildren, Richard was relocated to the brand new Clarendale Retirement complex in St. Peters where he settled into a more manageable two-bedroom apartment. He had become quite frail and he wasn't thriving and hadn't been in some time. Everyone had chalked it up to old age and melancholy but in late August Richard underwent tests at Mercy Hospital where doctors diagnosed him as having mid-stage ALS. Only days after having been admitted to the hospital, Richard was brought to his daughter Kathy Martin's home where he spent a handful of days being pampered, loved and cherished before he slipped away quietly in his sleep in the early morning hours of September 6 ^th ,  surrounded by his adoring family.

Richard Allen Daugherty is survived by his three children, Kathy Martin, Bill Daugherty and Patty Toben, sons-in-law Tony Martin and Terry Toben as well as his grandchildren: Jennifer (Toben) and husband TJ Hahn, Arthur Martin, Angie (Toben) and husband Aaron Saliger, Ellie Martin and Emma (Martin) and husband Zach King and three great-grandsons: Logan, Liam and Hudson Hahn. He also leaves behind his younger brother, veteran bassist and photographer Robert William Daugherty of Santa Maria, California.

This remarkable man. This creative and respected musician. This devoted husband and caring father, grandfather and great-grandfather lived an exemplary life. Blessed with the great fortune of having chosen a woman with a limitless capacity to love, Richard was taught – through example – that he too was capable of the same sort of altruistic affection which JoAnn showered upon those around her. Richard figured out how to love freely and with all he knew how in his twilight years. He was a provider, a teacher, a mentor, a friend, an artist, a craftsman, a family man and a light in this world. Richard Daugherty enjoyed a life well-lived and knew, beyond doubt, that he was a man well-loved.

Services: A memorial service will be held at a future date and his remains will be interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Ellisville, Missouri. If you wish to make a donation in his memory these were some of Richard's favorite charities: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital , Project ALS and Is Today My Day Rescue . A service of the SCHRADER Funeral Home and Crematory. Friends may sign the family's on-line guest book at Schrader.com.

Please feel free to leave a remembrance of Richard on this site and if you care to post photos they would be most welcome.

In loving memory of Richard Allen Daugherty (1934-2021)

Richard's video tribute: https://youtu.be/n26gFzl3wvQ