March 9, 1943 ~ December 12, 2023 (age 80)
Richard Cysle McCullough died peacefully at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette, Colorado on December 12, 2023, at the age of 80.
Born to Shirley Seabury and Robert Chugg McCullough on March 9, 1943, he was a true Renaissance Man. He received a Ph.D. in French from the University of Colorado in Boulder (CU). Later he decided to change careers and received a Master’s in geology, also from CU.
Richard had a life full of adventure. He was in the 8 th class of the Peace Corps and served in Ghana. After leaving the Peace Corps, Richard and a group of friends traveled around the world. In the 1970’s he was the director of the Students Abroad program for CU in Bordeaux, France.
In the 1980’s, Richard decided to change careers and spent his career as a geologist at Amoco Petroleum Company. His French fluency served him well as he spent most of his
career studying North African geology. It was while working at Amoco that he met the love of his life, Susan (Sue) Elizabeth Oliver.
Richard and Sue married on December 29, 1990. During their 33 years together, they had many adventures, including safari in Africa and rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. On October 22, 1996, they welcomed daughter Malaika Renee into the family and began the adventure of parenthood together.
Then in 1997 Richard decided to take early retirement from Amoco and the family moved to his beloved Boulder County. Richard, Sue and Malaika had many adventures hiking in the mountains and Richard continued to enjoy cycling.
Richard is survived by his wife, Susan Oliver McCullough, his daughter, Malaika Renee McCullough, his grandson, Thomas Cysle Cameron, his brother, Robert Gale McCullough and nieces and nephews, and great-nieces and nephews, all of whom he loved deeply.
A Celebration of Life will be held at First Congregational Church, UCC in Boulder, Colorado on February 3, 2024, at 1PM. All are welcome. In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Brain Injury Alliance of Colorado or Craig Hospital.
