Richard Allan "Dick" Neptune left this world for his final journey to be with his Heavenly Father on Sunday, October 15 2023.

Services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, October 21 2023 in the Eisenhower High School Auditorium.

Arrangements are under direction of Becker-Rabon Funeral Home.

Dick was born October 1, 1934 in Lawton, Oklahoma to Everett E. Neptune and his wife, Mary Louise Green Neptune. In 1925, Everett established the first J.C. Penny department store in Lawton. Mary was a teacher at Lawton High School. Dick grew up in Lawton and graduated from Lawton High School in 1952.

He continued his education at Oklahoma Baptist University, where he graduated in 1956 with a bachelor's degree in photography and accounting. Dick returned to Lawton and began his long and distinguished career as an educator the following year at Lawton High School. Dick earned his Master of Education degree from the University of Oklahoma in 1963 and his administrative certificate from OU in 1978.

Dick spent his entire career as an educator with the Lawton Public Schools. He served in various positions including: classroom teacher, the district's first activity director, the first assistant principal at Eisenhower High School, principal at Eisenhower High School, assistant Superintendent, and deputy Superintendent. He was selected to be the 13th Superintendent of Lawton Public Schools in 1985, a position from which he retired in 1997.

Dick, as a new teacher at Lawton High School in 1957, attended his first OEA meeting and was asked to chair a study of Credit Unions.  Together with his committee, he recommended the establishment of the Lawton Federal Credit Union.

Over the course of his long and distinguished career as an educator, he received many prestigious honors. He was honored with the 1990 Medal for Excellence in Public School Administration by the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence. He was recognized personally for his achievements by U.S. President George H.W. Bush during a ceremony held in Tulsa that year.

He also received the National Arts Award, presented to outstanding educators of the arts before the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.  This award was only given to seven school superintendents from across the United States.

He was also recognized by the National School Boards Association and International Business Machines with the Executive Educators 100 award, which named the top 100 education leaders in the U.S. with at least 25 years of service.

He was proud that six Lawton schools were recognized by the federal government as "Blue Ribbon Schools of Excellence" during his tenure as LPS Superintendent. The honor is based on superb overall school performance and continuous improvement in subsequent years. The schools receiving "Blue Ribbon" status were: Crosby Park, Whittier, Douglass, Hugh Bish, Western Hills, and Pioneer Park elementary schools.

After his retirement, he served in leadership positions with many civic organizations. He was the state president of the Oklahoma Retired Educators Association. He was a trustee and secretary of the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma Board of Trustees for over eight years.  Dick was a member of the Teachers Retirement System of Oklahoma Task Force in 1997, a position to which he was nominated by Speaker of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, Lloyd Benson. He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for Creative Living in Lawton. He and Carole served as the chairpersons of Lawton's Arts for All festival.   Dick was an elder at Boulevard Congregational and Christian Church, where he also served as the chairman of the churches board.   Dick initiated the beginning of the Lawton Public Schools Foundation.

Dick was a member of the National Parent Teacher Association Board of Directors in 1991 and 1992. He also received the 1991 Toastmasters International Communication and Leadership Award, a statewide honor for Oklahoma.

Dick married Carole Brewer of Snyder, Oklahoma, on April 14, 1984, in the home of LPS attorney Chuck Wade. As Dick often said, "it was a case of the nerd capturing the beauty queen ". The Neptunes honeymooned in Mexico during spring break that year. They traveled to Madrid, Spain for a week at the Palace Hotel during their first summer vacation together. He and Carole worked together for more than 28 years in the same office complex, in addition to being a married couple. Carole worked in various positions as an administrative assistant in the personnel department for the school district. Their careers with the Lawton Public Schools meshed harmoniously, along with the other aspects of their shared lives. Their romance spanned many years.  The Neptunes traveled all over the world, to every continent except Antarctica. Among the places they visited were: Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Turkey, Spain, Russia, China, Greece, Ireland, India, Nepal, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, England, Luxembourg, Monaco, Canada, Bahamas, Korea, Morocco, Italy, Portugal, Hawaii, France, Holland, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Finland, Mexico, Hong Kong, Wales, Scotland, Singapore and Malaysia.

Dick had a large circle of loved ones, including family and friends. He is survived by his wife, Carole of the home; three step sons: Derek Knowles and Cissy, Wichita Falls, Texas; Larrie Knowles and wife DeeAnn of Lawton; and Ronnie Joe Knowles and wife Retha of Apache, Oklahoma; one sister-in-law, Dianne Atchley and husband Mike of Snyder, Oklahoma; two brothers-in-law, Monty Brewer of Hereford, Texas; Ronnie Brewer and wife Becky of Indiahoma, Oklahoma; eight grandchildren, Jared Knowles and wife Kari of Purcellville, Virginia; Nick Knowles and wife Emily of Wichita Falls, Texas; Kimberly Echevarria and husband Mike of San Juan, Texas; daughter-in-law, Brooklyn, widow of the late Landon Knowles of Edmond, Oklahoma; Tiffney West of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Chris Knowles and wife Allison of Edmond, Oklahoma; Rayla Torres and husband David of Apache, Oklahoma; Cade Golden and wife Holly, Sapulpa, Oklahoma. Dick also had 14 great grandchildren: Macy, Charlie, Kailyn, Korben, Lillie, Liam, Adlyn, Kaitlyn, Ceanna, Rebel, Stryker, Jayce, Kenny and Kameryn. He was also blessed with two nieces: Jennifer Woods and her husband Clyde Woods of Shawnee and Stephanie Scrutchins of Estes Park, Colorado.  Dick's nephews and their families include: Sean Scrutchins, his wife Devon Scrutchins, and their son, Liam Scrutchins; Chris Toothaker and his wife Kara Toothaker, and Evan Scrutchins and his wife Crissey Scrutchens. He also leaves behind many friends and acquaintances who will miss his presence in their lives.

Dick Neptune spent his entire life in service to others, as an educator and a community leader. He did his best to contribute to the well-being of our society by educating children.  His approach to education could be summed up by the quote "Our progress as a nation can be no swifter than our progress in education.  The human mind is our fundamental resource".