Richard Arras

Richard was born on February 23rd, 1939 to Constance (Danna) and John Raymond Arras. As a child, he grew up in Frogtown and attended St. Adalbert's school with his brother Kenneth. He graduated from St. Agnes school in 1956. He joined the Army where he was stationed in Germany. He married Geraldine Black in 1971. They had 2 children, John and Stephanie. 

 

Richard worked for MNDot and retired in 1999.  He enjoyed many fishing trips with his friends throughout his life, especially his annual Lake of the Woods trip. In his retirement he enjoyed “Breakfast with the Boys” on Tuesday mornings at Perkins. Richard was a loving grandfather to his 4 grandkids, Reece, Paige, Beritt and Mack. 

 

Richard was witty and always good for a joke or a laugh. He loved to tinker around in his garage. If you ever needed a hammer, scissors or a magnifying glass, Richard was your guy. Richard was proud of his heritage and maintained connections with his Sicilian family. He kept meticulous records of family trees and photos of his ancestors. He loved visiting his family in Sicily in 2017 and seeing where his great aunts and uncles lived. He was especially close to his mother, Connie and aunt, Phyllis. 

Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015. Richard is survived by his children, John and Stephanie, his 4 grandchildren and his nephew, Ramon.  

 

We would like to thank the staff at Keystone at LaValle Fields in Hugo, Fairview Accent Care Hospice and the neurology team at the U of M MHealth Fairview clinic for all of their care. We would also like to thank the friends and relatives that helped Richard with appointments, errands and care.