Donald Wayne “Papa” Ritchey, 78, of Big Spring, died Monday, August 6, 2018, in a local nursing home. Funeral services will be 10:00 AM, August 9, 2018 at Midway Baptist Church, with the Rev. Mike Seay officiating. Interment will follow at Trinity Memorial Park.The family will receive friends from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM, Wednesday, August 8, 2018, at the funeral home.He was born May 23, 1940 in Dumas to Roy Don and Aline (Jones) Ritchey. He married Jo Ann Howard June 10, 1960 in Lamesa.Don moved from Loraine to Big Spring and worked as an employee at Pioneer Gas Company, a pump mechanic at Cosden, and a cotton farmer in Mitchell County, retiring in 2002.Don loved to put people on the spot, and if you ever spent any time around him, you quickly discovered it was you – on the spot. He could make a total stranger into a life-long friend, and he rarely let a conversation with a stranger pass without asking if he or she was a Christian. He held firmly to God, family, and fishing, and although Papa felt self-conscious about not having a degree, among all the rest of the family holding one or more degrees, he was – by far – the smartest and wisest of all, the one who was always called upon to provide the knowledge to fix anything and everything. Hence proving the wise tale: a degree is only worth the paper it’s written on.Don was a deacon at Midway Baptist Church.Survivors include his wife, Jo Ann Ritchey; two sons, Mike Ritchey and wife, Robin, of Big Spring and Phillip Ritchey and wife, Carmen of Granbury; one daughter, Robbie Gibson and husband, Tommy of Glen Rose; 7 grandchildren, Ian Ritchey and wife, Kelly, Raegan Bayless and husband, Nate, Bradan Ritchey and wife, Kayla, Matt Ritchey and wife, Laci, Cerbi Ritchey, Austin Gibson and Madi Gibson; 7 great-grandchildren and one on the way; and a brother, Bim Ritchey and wife, Patsy.Don was preceded in death by his parents and a grandson, Sage Gibson.The family suggest memorials to Howard County Relay for Life at main.acsevents.orgArrangements are under the direction of Nalley-Pickle & Welch Funeral Home and Crematory. Online condolences may be made at www.npwelch.com,
