PITTSBURG — Richard V. Cloke, 91, of Pittsburg, formerly of Chanute, died at 7 a.m. Tuesday, July 20, 2010, at Via Christi Village in Pittsburg following an illness.

He was born Jan. 16, 1919, in Parsons the son of Roy G. and Hazel P. (Babcock) Cloke.

He was a member of the 1936 Chanute state championship basketball team, graduating that same year. He attended two years at Chanute Junior College before entering the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1938. He served in World War II in Africa and Italy, flying B-24s. After the war he was assigned as an associate professor at the University of Kansas of Air Science and Technology. He later returned to active duty as an officer to a remote part of Japan. He later retired from active duty at Richards Gebaur Air Force Base.

Mr. Cloke had careers in insurance, the gas and oil industry and real estate.

He married O. Helen Gardner in 1941.

Survivors include a sister, Margie Thomas of Fort Smith, Ark.; two sons, Thomas Cloke of Chanute and David Cloke of Pittsburg; 10 grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; and numerous cousins, nephews and nieces.

He was preceded in death by his parents; three brothers; and a son, Richard D. Cloke.

A memorial graveside service will be at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Erie Memorial Cemetery in Erie with the Rev. Harry Disbrow officiating. Friends and family are asked to meet at the cemetery, where full military honors will be conducted.

The family suggests memorials to the First United Methodist Church in Chanute and these may be sent to Bath-Naylor Funeral Home, 522 S. Broadway, Pittsburg, 66762.

Online condolences may be left at www.bathnaylor.com.