Richard B. Botts, age 92, a resident of Carol Stream, IL, died June 8, 2017, at Central DuPage Hospital in Winfield, Illinois.

Richard Barton Botts was born on January 16, 1925 in Harrisburg PA. He was the son of Barton, an accomplished musician and Esther Ring, a state government employee. His best childhood memory was exploring the Susquehanna River by canoe with his buddy, Eddie Akers. After graduating from William Penn High School, he served in the US Navy during WWII on the USS Phoenix in the South Pacific from 1942–1945.

He married Betty Jane Spangenberg and together raised their family of three boys in New Cumberland PA: Tim (married to Nancy Bonner) a book designer and calligrapher near Chicago IL, Greg (married to Jenny Hankwitz) a painter and poet near Santa Fe NM, and Ken (married to JoAnn Ryan) a graphic designer near Dayton OH. He worked at the Evangelical Press as a printer for twenty years, then sold life insurance with several companies, and in retirement drove a school bus.

After Betty Jane died in 1975, he married Shirley Eisenhower, a widow who had four children: Cynthia, Cory, Keith, and Henry whom he helped raise in Mechanicsburg PA. He sang in church choirs most of his life and was especially fond of organ music. In later years he also owned a boat and enjoyed water skiing. He moved to Windsor Park Manor in Carol Stream IL in 2014.

He is survived by one sister, Beverly Bortner of Harrisburg, six children, eleven grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren.

Interment with military honors will take place at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery in Annville, Pennsylvania, Friday June 16 at 9:30 AM. A memorial service will be held later this month at Windsor Park in Carol Stream, Illinois.

Family and friends may sign a guest book at hultgrenfh.com. For more information, please call Hultgren Funeral Home at 630-668-0027.