Richard William Gilchrist, Sr

Richard “Dickie” William Gilchrist, Sr, age 73, of Troy, Alabama, passed away Wednesday, August 30, 2023. Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 9, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. in the chapel of Green Hills Funeral Home with Rev. Doc Kirby officiating. Burial will follow in Green Hills Memorial Cemetery. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Active pallbearers will be Malcolm Lane Gilchrist Jr, David Henry Gilchrist Jr, John Michel Gilchrist, Lance David Greer, Benjamin Bradford Greer, and Rushton Lee Greer. Honorary pallbearers will be Maxwell Hayes, Tommy Greer, Michael Enzor Gilchrist, Steve Stephens, Julian Stephens, Jonathan Stephens, Joseph Stephens, Al Self, Raymond Sexton, Jerry Colley, Steve Flowers, Bert Floyd, Benny Pinckard, Jan Sztuka, Fred Gouge, Charlie Senn, Tommy Peacock, Greg Hattaway, Jerry Lobb, Mike Harper, John Mike McCall, and Bart Snyder.

Lt. Col Gilchrist was a longtime resident of Troy and an active member of the First Baptist Church of Troy. Lt. Col. Gilchrist was a 1968 graduate of Charles Henderson High School and earned both a BS in Wildlife Biology and Master's of Public Administration (MPA) from Auburn University. He was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He received his commission into the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in 1973 and served for 32 years retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. Various duty locations include: Lackland AFB, Texas, Hurlburt Field, Florida, Mather AFB, California, Royal Thai AB, Thailand, K.I. Sawyer AFB, Michigan, Loring AFB, Maine, Dannelly Field, Alabama, Howard AB, Panama, and Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Lt. Col. Gilchrist served as a weapons officer or navigator on the following military aircraft; AC-130H Spectre Gunship, KC-135 Stratotanker, F-4 Phantom, and C-130H Hercules. Lt. Col. Gilchrist participated in the following military operations: Vietnam War, Cold War, Coronet Oak, the extraction of Manuel Noriega, and the Global War on Terrorism.
Lt. Col. Gilchrist was preceded in death by his grandparents, Malcolm William Gilchrist, Sr, Olean Horn Gilchrist, William Dalton Knight and Melva Blair Knight Duke; his parents, Joseph Wilson Gilchrist and Ann Knight Gilchrist; and sister, Barbara Gilchrist Greer.
He is survived by his daughter, Heather Leigh Gilchrist; his son, Richard William Gilchrist II (Jackie); his grandsons, Richard William Gilchrist III, Angus Tunstall Gilchrist; brother-in-law, Tommy Lee Greer; aunt, Dr. Alice Knight Hayes; nephew, Benjamin Bradford Greer (Jennifer); and nieces, Misha Michelle Greer (Jeri) and Brittany Sloane Greer. 
The staff of Green Hills is honored to serve the Gilchrist family.