Richard Paul Merchant, 59, of Deer Park, Texas, passed away on March 6, 2019, at his home.

Funeral services will be 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 8, 2019, at First Baptist Church of Vinton, 1401 Center St., Vinton Louisiana 70668. Officiating will be Reverend Bobby Daniel. Burial will follow at Big Woods Cemetery in Vinton, Louisiana.

Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m., Friday, March 8, 2019 at First Baptist Church in Vinton, Louisiana.

Born on February 17, 1960 in Lake Charles, Louisiana, he was the son of Jewel Earl Merchant and Sharon (Bruce) Merchant. Richard began working at the age of 13 and was a very accomplished instrumentation and electrical technician for over 30 years. He was very instrumental in improving the efficiency of specialized machines, reducing waste, and saving companies large amounts of money. Richard earned awards for his proficiency and was named his company’s first “Employee of the Month” by all of the plant employees. He worked for Evonik/Degussa Corp for over 10 years, moving on to Koch Pipeline for several more years, before ending up at Kanaka for the last 3 years. During his long career he achieved so much, it would be impossible to list everything. He was a loving husband, a hardworking father, and a compassionate grandfather. Richard will be dearly missed by all those who held him close to their hearts.

He is survived by his loving wife, Susan Merchant; children, Courtney Gayle Ziegler of Bridge City, Texas and Shannon Paul Merchant of Bridge City, Texas; grandchildren, Destiny & Trinity Wright, and Abby & Zane Ziegler; and siblings, Bruce Lane Merchant of Sulphur, Louisiana, and Toni Catherine Tanner of Tomball, Texas; along with many friends and loved ones.