Mienheartt, Richard

MIENHEARTT,

Richard Lee

Age 70 of Lawrenceburg, Indiana passed away on April 25, 2022. He was born in Brazil,

Indiana, on December 15, 1951, the son of Clyde and

Betty (Fisher) Mienheartt. He was a graduate of Colerain High School and worked for Jake Sweeney for 40 years. On October 26, 1989, he married Karen Rigling and they

enjoyed many years together. Ric enjoyed all forms of racing, especially open-wheel, but his main love was the Indianapolis 500. He was extremely knowledgeable in all aspects of Indy racing having studied it almost every night and had an encyclopedic knowledge of Indy. He shared his love of racing with his loving wife, Karen. He also loved racing go karts, which he did from childhood into retirement. At 67, he won his division racing on dirt at Lawrenceburg. In his 30's, Ric worked on an Indy 500 team and painted a car that ran in the Indianapolis race in the 1980's. Later, He had an opportunity to participate in an "Indy Ride and Drive" where he was able to drive an

actual race car around the Indianapolis track. He loved this

experience so much, but, when he realized that he would have to pay for any damages if he crashed, he decided to back off and not go as fast as he wanted. He collected everything he could find related to Indy, and left a museum quality

collection of his memorabilia. Ric also loved collecting model trains. This passion started when he fixed Karen's childhood Lionel Scout engine. He and Karen even went to several train conventions around the country to add to his collection. He acquired several post-war engines that he was very proud of. During COVID-19, he built wooden cases to display these in their living room. Christmas was another favorite time for Ric. He designed and built numerous indoor and outdoor displays winning the "Yard of the Month" award for their display in 2020. Ric also enjoyed playing and listening to music. In his youth, he played drums in his band. He actually met Karen on the dance floor, and they danced together for over 33 years. Ric will be dearly missed. Rick is survived by his loving wife, Karen Mienheartt; his son Alan (Julie) Mienheartt; two grandchildren Alexis and Zachary; his brother, Ron (Kathy) Mienheartt and one sister, Kathleen (Tim) Amann; and many other loving relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents. There will be a celebration of life at Venice Presbyterian Church, 4244 Layhigh Road, Fairfield (Ross) Ohio 45014 on Saturday, May 7, 2022, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Donations may be sent to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation in memory of Ric. Online condolences at

www.charlesyoungfuneralhome.com