Richard was born in Waco at the old Providence Hospital on January 5, 1942. He was preceded in death by his father, OW “Bubba” Tooker; mother, Myrtis Applegate, both of Waco; and brother, Thomas W. Tooker of Tyler, TX.

Richard attended South Waco Elementary School, Dean Highland Elementary, North Junior High, and Waco High. At Waco High he was elected the Mayor of Student Government for the Class of 1960. Richard attended Baylor University, majoring in journalism and broadcasting. In 1962, he began a short career as a Top 40 DJ at WACO Radio station. He left the “glamorous” world of radio to work for Paul Meyer at Success Motivation Institute in Waco, planning and executing sales meetings, conferences, and conventions for distributors. In 1970, his career took off in the newly burgeoning field of direct marketing. He learned the business at Direct Mail Corporation of America, then moved to Peoria Il, to work for the first company offering Database Marketing services. The rapid expansion of computers powerful enough to manipulate large quantities of data led to a marketing explosion. Richard became Executive VP of what was at the time a premier database marketing company in the US. He ended his career with Wunderman Data Management in Dallas, part of WPP Group in London, the world’s largest marketing communications company.

An accomplished writer, Richard published one business book entitled, “The Business of Database Marketing”. He also wrote a science fiction novel, “The Titicaca Effect”. Richard lived in Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Peoria, Philadelphia, and Chico, CA, before returning to Waco after he retired in January, 2019. He spent a brief time volunteering with Fuzzy Friends Rescue in Waco, writing the online dog biographies. Richard was a talented artist and he loved to scuba dive.

Richard is survived by his wife of 33 years, Victoria; Aunt Emily Tooker-Blake of Waco; cousins, Max Tooker and Harry Tooker of Waco, Sharon Odell of Richardson, TX; nephew, Todd Tooker of Tyler, TX; and devoted dogs, Peanut and Casper. In lieu of cards or flowers, please make a donation in Richard’s name to Fuzzy Friends Rescue, Waco, TX. Due to the circumstances we live in today, there will not be a service at this time, but one may occur in the future. A portion of Richard’s remains will be sent to space on a future SpaceX mission where his capsule will orbit the earth for about two years before re-entering the earth’s atmosphere. This is the adventure trip of a lifetime that he gladly would have made during his time on this earth.