Harry (Rick) Daugherty, 68

Harry (Rick) Daugherty, beloved father, grandfather, brother and uncle, passed away Feb. 19, 2024, in the presence of his family at his home in Post Falls, Idaho. He was born Oct. 12, 1955, at the Wardner Hospital, in Kellogg, Idaho. He was the son of Richard and Geraldine Daugherty. Rick grew up in Smelterville and attended Silver King Grade School. He attended and graduated from Kellogg High School, Class of 1974. Rick attended North Idaho College for electronics. He married Connie Gardner of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Later, he married Denise Blanton of Spokane, Wash., and they had two children together, Brian and Nicole.  

Rick is survived by his daughter, Nicole Daugherty, and grandson Malakai; three siblings, Debby (Mike) Roberts of Kennewick, Wash.; Wendy (Mike) Hei of Pinehurst, Idaho; and Scott (Joyce) Daugherty of Cataldo, Idaho, several nieces and nephews, a great-niece, and a great nephew. Other special people he called family included his longtime girlfriend, Valerie Crockett, of Alberta, Canada. Rick was preceded in death by his son, Brian Daugherty, his parents, Richard and Geraldine (Brown) Daugherty; and his grandmother, Violet (McGillivray) Brown.  

Rick was a perfectionist at work, but a bit of a procrastinator in his personal life. But he had a heart of gold and there was not a stingy bone in his body — he often went out of his way to help someone in distress or who was having money problems. The Green Bay Packers often filled him with joyful enthusiasm Sunday afternoons and his 1970 Nova SS gave him pure delight as he cruised in his muscle car.        

Rick proudly claimed his Irish heritage. A “paddy cap” often adorned his brown locks and side profile, and his German shepherd was not far from his side. Rick had a passion in life for roadbuilding and construction, and he morphed into a jack-of-all-trades, working on heavy equipment, pioneering logging roads and laying the groundwork for commercial buildings and rock retaining walls while repairing his diesel pickup in his off hours. His roadbuilding became an art in itself, as many can attest.  

Rick’s first job was delivering the Kellogg Evening News in his boyhood years. This is when Rick came down with a yearslong kidney disease that followed him through high school, with many long stints in Sacred Heart Hospital. 

During his high school years, Rick worked for Gary Damiano at the Corner Drug in Kellogg, Idaho. Fresh out of high school, Rick became employed by Sverdsten Logging as a spotter on a line machine. During his second year of logging, Rick was given the opportunity to run his first cat. Through the years, he worked for several logging and excavating contractors, including Triple Tree Logging; Bob Helmick Road Building & Construction; Shawn Montee; and Red Diamond Construction. His last job was working for Peck & Peck Excavation, where he reached the zenith of his career in personal satisfaction and happiness under the stewardship of owner Greg Peck and Greg Peck’s dad.  

Rick liked to play chess, collect Coca-Cola memorabilia, vacation on the Oregon Coast at Beverly Beach and go fly fishing at Wrigley Lake. He also loved to cook, hunt, go boating, camping and huckleberry picking and he was a computer guru, often fixing many frustrating computer problems. He was a good man, known for his work ethic, giving 100%, but don’t get him started talking about politics!   

Rick had tremendous courage and an extraordinary inner strength to pursue his battle with pancreatic and liver cancer, sometimes working four days a week, along with experimental chemotherapy treatments. Rick hardly ever complained about himself and he held a positive attitude right up to his demise.  

Private family graveside services will be held at Hunt Cemetery. The family suggests memorials may be made to Hunt Cemetery (P.O. Box 722, Pinehurst, ID 83850) or the “Wishing Star Foundation.”  

A celebration of life memorial will be held Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 2 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel Templin’s On The River in Post Falls, Idaho. 

English Funeral Chapel is entrusted with the services. Condolences to the family at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.