Rick Agman

Richard Carl “Sunshine Rick” Agman, 76, of Willmar, died Thursday, June 25 at St. Cloud Hospital. A celebration of Rick’s life will take place on Saturday, July 11, at 1:00 p.m., at Willmar United Methodist Church, located at 1818 Ninth Street Southwest, Willmar, Minnesota.  Visitation will be at the church one hour prior to the service.  Following the service will be a time for dessert and sharing memories of Rick down in the church’s Fellowship Hall.  Please have any flower arrangements sent to Willmar United Methodist Church.  Please send all memorial gifts to either Willmar United Methodist Church Missions Fund at the address of the church, or to Willmar Noon Lions Club Member Awards Fund at the following address:  Willmar Noon Lions Club, P.O. Box 1526, Willmar, MN 56201. A livestream of the service can be found here.

   Richard Carl Agman was born on Monday, September 5, 1949, to Carl Agman and Beverly Anne Malloy Curtis Agman in Omaha, Nebraska.  His mother never let him forget that he was born on Labor Day!  His first nicknames were Rick and Rickie.  Rick’s parents worked for a carnival. 

  When Rick was three years old, his parents were divorced, and Rick lived with his father in the ghetto on the north side of Omaha.  His mother married Henry (Fritz) Christ, and they raised Rick’s older half-sister, Sherry Lee Curtis, together in Omaha. 

   Rick was born with a rare genetic eye condition known as aniridia, and he had some vision through the first 34 years of his life.  He attended the School for the Visually Handicapped in Nebraska City and graduated in May of 1968 with honors.  He then attended school for one year at Bismarck Junior College in North Dakota. 

   In 1969 Rick moved back to Omaha, and on February 14, 1970, he married Joyce Hovendick of Herman, Nebraska.  On July 4, 1978, Rick and Joyce were blessed with a daughter, whom they named Wendy Lynn Agman. 

   In 1980, Rick and Joyce were divorced, and Rick moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 1981, where he met Ruth Renae Busk, known to all her family and friends as Ruthie.  One of their first dates with each other in Sioux Falls was attending a Lowell Lundstrom Crusade during which he went forward and asked Jesus Christ into his heart as his personal Lord and Savior.   Rick and Ruthie were married on May 7, 1983, at East Side Presbyterian Church in Sioux Falls, the same church in which Ruthie’s parents were married.  Ruthie’s father, Rev. Richard Busk, performed the ceremony. 

   In the fall of 1983, Rick and Ruthie moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where Rick attended Brown Institute of Broadcasting.  He graduated in August of 1984, with a certificate in radio broadcasting.  Before his graduation, Rick and Ruthie moved to Milbank, South Dakota, where Rick had a job as an announcer awaiting him at KCGN Radio, a Contemporary Christian station covering Ortonville, Minnesota, and Milbank and Sisseton South Dakota.  It was at this station that Rick and Ruthie invented his radio nickname, “Sunshine Rick”.  While living in Milbank, Ruthie invited Rick to become a part of her music ministry, which they called “Sound of Light Ministries”.  Ruthie played keyboards and sang, and Rick ran the sound equipment. 

   In 1986, Rick and Ruthie left KCGN Radio, and in 1987 they moved to Little Rock, Arkansas, where they both attended vocational school at Arkansas Enterprises for the Blind.  Ruthie trained in Word Processing and also as a switchboard receptionist, and Rick took his training as a Taxpayer Service Representative.  In 1988, Rick and Ruthie moved to Denver, Colorado, where Rick worked for the Internal Revenue Service as a Taxpayer Service Representative for six years. 

   In 1994, Rick retired from the IRS, and he and Ruthie moved to Omaha, Nebraska, to be near Rick’s mother who was dying of cancer.  In December of 1999, Rick and Ruthie were divorced, and Ruthie moved to Willmar, Minnesota, in early 2000, to be near her sister and her family.  It was around this time that Rick’s daughter Wendy Lynn Agman changed her name to Wendalyn M. Hovendick. 

   On July 21, 2001, Rick married Cynthia (Cindy) Croft of Omaha.  In 2010, Rick and Cindy moved to Fairfield, California, where Rick was hired as a switchboard operator for Travis Air Force Base. At this job Rick connected military employees serving in other countries with their loved ones and friends. 

   In February of 2013, Cindy passed away due to cardiac arrest complicated by sleep apnea.  In July of 2013, Rick moved to Willmar, Minnesota, to be near Ruthie and to explore the health care that he could receive in Minnesota since he had recently gone into kidney failure.  On May 7, 2016, Rick and Ruthie were reunited in marriage  at Willmar United Methodist Church, with Pastor Jeff Ozanne performing the ceremony. 

   On February 5, 2018, after four and a half years of dialysis treatments, Rick underwent a kidney transplant, and the organ donor was the family of a seven-year-old boy named Simon, who was killed in a sledding accident.  Rick’s new kidney served him well for a little over eight years. 

   On Saturday, June 20, 2026, Rick was taken by ambulance to CentraCare Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar, and on Sunday, June 21, he was transferred to the St. Cloud Medical Center because his kidney was no longer functioning. On Thursday, June 25, 2026, at 6:00 a.m., Rick passed away and went to be with his Lord Jesus.  Ruthie had called the hospital in St. Cloud to speak with Rick’s nurse and see if Rick was awake at about the same time that he passed away. 

    Rick has been involved in several organizations, including Toastmasters International, South Dakota J. C.s, the National Church Conference of the Blind, The Eagle’s Club of Omaha, and several Lions Clubs throughout the country.  The last club in which Rick was a member was the Willmar Noon Lions Club of Minnesota Lions District 5M4, Zone 7.    Rick especially enjoyed being in charge of the Willmar Noon Lions annual Waffle Day and Pancake Day fund-raiser events. 

   Rick’s employment endeavors included selling insurance, professional massage, working as a dark room technician for a hospital in Omaha, working with the Randolf Shepherd Vendors’ Association in the food business, radio broadcasting, Taxpayer Service Representative for the IRS, Customer Service Representative for the following:   Hyatt Hotels, Greyhound Bus, and Marriott Hotels, dispatcher for Happy Cab of Omaha, and switchboard operator for Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, California. 

   Rick is survived by his loving wife Ruthie of Willmar, Minnesota; his self-estranged daughter, Wendalyn M. Hovendick of Maryland; nephew, Brian Manthe of Omaha; grandnephew, Christian Manthe of Omaha, grandnieces: Morgan and Caitlin Manthe of Omaha; several loving in-laws, and many treasured friends. 

   Rick was preceded in death by his stepfather, Henry (Fritz) Christ in 1986; his father, Carl Agman in 1986; his stepmother, Treva Agman in 1988; his mother, Beverly Anne (Annie) Christ in 1996; half-sister, Sherry Lee Manthe in 2008; loving third wife, Cindy Agman in 2013; estranged first wife, Joyce Agman in 2017; and dear brother-in-law, Kenneth Manthe in 2025; as well as many treasured in-laws and friends.   

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