Richard D. Cerne

Richard D. “Hillbilly” Cerne 85 of Conneaut, OH passed away peacefully surrounded by family on March 7, 2026 at his home. He was born on January 13, 1941 to Joseph and Thelma (Summerfield) Cerne in Ewin, West Virginia.

Richard graduated from Southern Garrett County High School in Oakland, Maryland and enlisted in the United States Army earned the ranking of Sergeant before being honorably discharged.

He worked for CNC Operator from 1983-1992 where he set up and operated CNC lathe and mill, produced fuel nozzles per print, checked parts and logged dimensions while helping others troubleshoot issues. He then went on to work for Parker-Hannifin in Andover, OH from 1992-2002 where they did Military Rework and Overhaul, there he used correct fixtures and prints, cut off parts described and reworked to make parts to print and log dimensions, while there he had a very low scrap rate, perfect attendance for 3yrs in a row, found ways to make parts better and faster and assisted other departments to cut cycle times down. He advanced his knowledge within house ISO and MARI training and was given a prize for Most Dollars Saved on Cost Reduction in one year.

Richard was known to most as “Hillbilly” and enjoyed hunting, working on cars, drinking Pepsi, mowing his yard, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers and attending the Pioneer Picnics in Monroe Twp and above all he loved being surrounded by his family especially his grandchildren and great grandchildren.

He is survived by his children Richard, Jeffrey and Kathy Cerne;  a brother Robert Cerne; granddaughter Tonya Leslie; great grandchildren Jasmine, Destiny, Jaden, Jorden and Zoey; and great-great grandchildren Xander, Leo, Channing and Ja’Zarrah.

Preceding him in death are his parents, his wife Betty “Jean”, a sister Nancy and longtime companion Phyllis Coy.

Funeral service will be 1:00pm on March 12, 2026 with an hour of visitation from 12:00pm until the time of service at Marcy Funeral Home, 208 Liberty St., Conneaut, OH who has been entrusted with his arrangements. Burial will follow with military honors provided by the American Legion Cowle Post 151 in East Conneaut Cemetery.

Memorial Contributions can be made to Feed Our Vets, 433 Center St. Ashtabula, OH 44004.

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