Ricky Scott Vergin, 68, passed into the waiting arms of his Lord and Savior on Friday, June 26, 2026 at his home in Dallas surrounded by his loving family.

He was born August 8, 1957, to Darleen (Crowell) Vergin and Kenneth Vergin. He graduated from Barron High School in 1975. After completing his degree in electronics and passing his FCC exam, he accepted a position at Chibardun Telephone Cooperative. His career began in a technical realm working on radio equipment, cable television head ends and in the central office of the telephone company. His hard work and keen intellect led to promotions and additional responsibilities, culminating in him leading the company as the CEO for 20 years. He retired in 2013 after 36 years of employment.

Rick fully embraced retirement as it gave him time to enjoy his many hobbies. He loved the outdoors, maintaining the many acres surrounding home and creating prime whitetail habitat. Hunting, especially by bow, was as natural and necessary as breathing and he taught himself to be proficient in filming his outdoor adventures. His videos were featured on hunting websites and even the Sportsmans Channel. The woods and mountains were his favorite destinations, but home was unquestionably his favorite place in the entire world. The beach in St. Thomas followed closely behind.

Rick built and gifted his family with beautiful wood projects and furniture. He built a new cabin on family property near Barnes and then built all of the furniture for it using reclaimed wood from the old cabin that had been taken down. Never one to sit still, he decided that making maple syrup would fill his “down time” and soon he was collecting thousands of gallons of sap, building a reverse osmosis system, cooking and bottling gallons of maple syrup to give away to anyone that came to the house. Having been raised on a farm, he had a fondness for fieldwork and loved to help plow, plant and harvest using his dream tractor.

He was a man of many diverse interests and talents whose ability to excel at almost anything was a source of wonder for those around him. He was able to seamlessly traverse from a boardroom to barn and be perfectly comfortable in either. While he was reserved and introverted, his love for his family was loud and clear.

Surviving, in addition to his loving wife, Lori; are sons, Kasey (Heidi) of West Salem and Darren (Chelsey) of Dallas; daughters, Nicole (Adam) of Eau Claire and Brittany (Blaze) of Barron. He was a loving Papa to 9 grandchildren: Alexander, Oscar, Maverick, Kinsley, Lincoln, Sawyer, Cooper, Piper and Jasper. Additionally, he is survived by his adoring mother, Darleen; brother, Randy (Sarah); as well as many in-laws; an aunt and uncles; cousins; nieces; nephews and friends.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents; father; father-in-law; mother-in-law; aunts, (Joyce, Chris, Pat, and Deb); uncle, (Bucky) and nephew, (Greg).

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, July 2 at The Church Barn in Barron with Reverend Dr. Cari Jackson officiating. Interment will be at Wayside Cemetery, in Barron. Visitation will be held from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, July 1 at Rausch & Steel Funeral Home, Barron, and one hour prior to the services at The Church Barn. The service will be live streamed on Facebook Live.

Last Update: Jun 30, 2026 10:00 am CDT