Richard Allen Eicher

Dedicated husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, mentor, and friend, Richard (Rick) Allen Eicher I, took his first heavenly breath on July 29, 2025. He passed peacefully at home, surrounded by loved ones, endlessly cared for by his best friend and wife of more than fifty years, Connie Jean Hinson Eicher (and snuggling his shadow, a chihuahua named Beth). Rick and Connie's house, constantly filled with the many sounds of beloved rescue dogs, grew still and quiet at his passing. His time on earth is done; his mark on this world remains. Rick was born in Roswell, NM on September 12, 1952. He became an educated man of many talents - he spent years in the oil field, farming pecans, and fabricating metal. He loved old cars and fixing up engines, building things and achieving the impossible. Breaking bricks with his fist in Tae Kwon Do was a favorite pastime. His retirement years were spent working with dogs - both at his final entrepreneurial venture, Gardendale Country Kennel, and at his true life's work, The Promised Land Dachshund Sanctuary. Rick could rehab a wild bobcat cub, enthrall an injured fledgling, or tame the wildest critters, but nothing demonstrated his gift with animals quite like his work with dogs. The most traumatized canines - those others gave up on because they were too broken to fix - those were "Rick's dogs." Whether it took hours or weeks, each of them fell under his spell. They'd learn to trust. To love. To live. He wasn't quiet. He wasn't subtle. His presence was felt, seen, and heard. Rick lived with intensity laced with jest. He spoke his mind, but he also made all those around him laugh. His years were sprinkled with stories of mentoring young men to work hard and never give up. Tell him he couldn't do something, and that was his next action. We grieve because we don't get to tag along on his greatest adventure. Rick is preceded in heaven by his father and mother, Tharen Howard (Ike) Eicher and Thelma Louise (Tiny) Akin Eicher, as well as his oldest daughter, Monica Eicher, his youngest sister, Kathy Eicher, and more beloved animals than we can count, notably each of his six "Christy" dogs. He is survived by his wife Connie; his son Richard Allen Eicher II, daughter-in-law, Jennifer, and their three children and one grandchild; his daughter Jessica Jean Eicher Smith, her husband William (Billy), and their children: Samuel, Sapphire, Hunter, and Katherine; siblings Mike and wife Sharon, Dana and husband Ronnie, Paula, Monte and wife Suzanne, sister-in-law Nancy, and several generations of beloved nieces and nephews who enjoyed unending laughter alongside their mischievous "Uncle Rick." We are all part of his story, and his story lives on in us. We celebrate this man because it seems ungrateful to do anything less. The memorial service will take place on Friday, August 1 at 2pm, with Pastor David Newton officiating, at Crossroads Church: 6901 East State Hwy 191, Odessa, TX 79762. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to The Promised Land Dachshund Sanctuary: P.O. Box 150, Shiro, TX 77876.

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Richard Allen Eicher

September 12, 1952 - July 29, 2025