Dr. Richard Reavis

DONGOLA, Ill. -- Dr. Richard L. Reavis, 64, of Dongola died Saturday, March 29, 2003, at St. Francis Medical Center in Cape Girardeau.

He was born Dec. 13, 1938, in Cape Girardeau, son of Cloyd and Helen McCullough Reavis. He and Sidna Handley were married May 28, 1966.

Reavis received bachelor and master degrees from Eastern Illinois University, educational specialist degree from Southeast Missouri State University, and doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

He was superintendent of Dongola School District 66. He had served as superintendent in Shell Knob, Mo., Purdy, Mo., Washburn, Mo., Heber Springs, Ark., and Lanett City, Ala., where he received the Martin Luther King Jr. Profiles in Courage Award. He had also taught and coached in Oregon, Ill.

Reavis was a member of American and Illinois Association of School Administrators. He served in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1958 to 1964.

Survivors include his wife; a daughter, Dena Pavlicek of San Diego, Calif.; a son, Scott Reavis of Vienna, Ill.; a brother, Cloyd "Bud" Reavis Jr. of Palm Coast, Fla.; three sisters, Kay Reavis of Cape Girardeau, Linda Buchheit of Jacksonville, Ark., and Brenda Schuetz of Hemphill, Texas.

Friends may call at Crain Funeral Home in Dongola from 3 to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The funeral will be at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the funeral home, with the Rev. Dare Aden officiating.