Richard Graham Roark, widower of Gail Ball Roark, entered into eternal rest on Thursday, December 18, 2025, at Magnolias of Santee.

A memorial service will be held  11:00 AM Saturday, January 10, 2025, at Old St. George Baptist Church.  The family will receive friends an hour before the service.

Richard was born on April 30, 1936, in Blountville, Tennessee, and was the son of David Washington Roark and Eula Lee Barr Roark. He retired after 38 years as Chief Depot Clerk at Norfolk Southern Railroad. He later went on to graduate from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy and served as a police officer in St. George, a Dorchester County Sheriff’s Deputy, and a municipal judge for Reevesville, Ridgeville, and St. George. Richard was a faithful member of Old St. George Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and choir member.

He was predeceased by his wife and their daughter, Sherree Anne Roark; brothers and sisters-in-law, Edward Harry Lee “Bud” Roark, David Washington “Harold” Roark (Bertie), Dan Gilmer Roark (Sylvia), and Ronnie Lee Roark; sisters and brothers-in-law, Elizabeth Colleen Atkinson (Jim), Mary Edna Cruff (Hiram), and Evelyn Kathleen Cory (Marion).

He was also preceded in death by Samuel Ayden Dantzler, whom he regarded as a grandson.

Surviving is his brother, Howard Grandval Roark, a host of nieces and nephews, and longtime friends, Rebecca, Jeff, Brantley, and Jackson Dantzler.

Memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Shriners Hospital, or Old St. George Baptist Church.