Richard Dale Gaede, age 87, of Canton, GA passed away on February 19, 2025. He was born in the St. Louis, MO area to John and Carrie Gaede. He was a faithful and devoted husband to Alta Jane for 64 years. He was a leader for his family and in his church. He began attending Chambers Park Missionary Baptist Church in Ferguson, MO as a youth. He loved their three children and his desire was to see them love and serve the Lord. For 37 years he was a very devoted employee of the Coca-Cola Bottling Company of St. Louis. When the grandkids came along, he became known as "Papa" and Alta became "Greems".
In 1995, Papa and Greems moved to Canton, GA to be closer to some of his family and likely to experience more days of good tennis-playing weather. He became a faithful member of Lebanon Baptist Church in Roswell, Georgia. He loved singing in the Lebanon Baptist Church choir, doing projects at church with his buddy Art Humphreys and listening to recitations of Awana verses by the kids.
One of his favorite summer activities when the grandkids were small was cousin's camp. The older cousins would all come together for camp at Papa and Greems house for a few weeks. It was the highlight of the summer.
He is preceded in death by his wife Alta, his parents, and a son, Richard Alan Gaede. He is survived by his son, Randy Gaede and his daughter, Debra (Charles) Cornett; his sister, Betty Rayfield. He has seven grandchildren, Zachary (Shannon) Cornett, Carly (Brian) Campbell, Nate Gaede, Sam (Carolyn) Cornett, Jeremy Gaede (Clarissa), Elle Wittstruck, and Marissa Gaede. He also has ten great-grandchildren, Vayda, Claire, Briar, Ben, Penn, Ozzie, Isla, Luna, Henry and Coral.