Rick Alan Bagwell

Rick Alan Bagwell, 69, of Scottsville, KY, passed away peacefully on Friday, June 26, 2026, at his home in Tennessee, surrounded by the family he loved above all else.

Born on January 8, 1957, in Rockford, Illinois, Rick built a life defined by his love for his family, hard work, deep faith, genuine generosity, and an almost alarming devotion to largemouth bass.

In 1990, Rick joined Halton Group, a Finland-based multinational company, where he would spend the next three decades working tirelessly (and extraordinarily effectively) to grow the company’s operations across North, Central, and South America. He traveled the globe, built lasting relationships, and rose from Sales Manager to President of the Americas. Those who worked alongside him knew that Rick didn't just build a business; he built people.

In the fall of 1994, Rick and his family put down roots in Scottsville, Kentucky, and he poured himself into the community with the same energy he brought to everything else. He served on the Allen County School Board, on the Industrial Development Authority, and on the YMCA board. He played a key role in creating the Allen Springs Industrial Park and was a proud member of the Scottsville Rotary Club. To know Rick was to know someone who believed deeply that a community is only as strong as the people willing to show up for it, and Rick always showed up.

His Christian faith was not a Sunday-morning formality but the quiet foundation on which he built his family. Rick was saved and became a follower of Jesus in his childhood. He became a member of Scottsville Baptist Church more than 30 years ago, where he taught Sunday School for several years with the same well-studied, open-hearted enthusiasm he brought to every conversation about God and His grace for us. Rick's faith wasn't something he kept tucked away. The fruits of the Spirit showed up plainly in how he listened, how he loved, how he treated people, and how he raised his family. Faith wasn't just a part of who he was; it was the foundation of all he was and all he built.

When he wasn't working or serving or teaching, Rick could almost certainly be found on the water. He was an avid (some might say evangelical) fisherman, with a particular passion for largemouth bass. He made it his personal mission to introduce himself to as many of them as possible at Barren River Lake, and in his later years turned his attention to Lake Guntersville, where thousands more largemouth bass entered and exited his boat, likely thoroughly confused, but, like everyone who crossed Rick's path, better for the encounter.

Rick was endlessly curious and never quite done learning. He was a vociferous reader, rarely without at least half a dozen books going at once.

Ask those who knew him best what they will remember most, and the answer is likely to be his selflessness, his kindness, the wisdom he offered freely, the counsel he gave without judgment, and, above all, the extraordinary love he showed his family at every turn. Rick was a proud husband, a devoted daddy, and a Poppa who made no secret of the joy his grandchildren brought him. While he was never one for prideful boasting, he freely shared how proud he was of the life he and Donna built together, the women his daughters became, and the young men who were wise enough to marry them. And then there were his grandchildren, about whom he had no reservations whatsoever when it came to boasting.

Rick is survived by his beloved wife of 39 years, Donna Edwards Bagwell; his daughters, Nikki Francis (John-Mark) of Scottsville, Kentucky, and Jamie Sims (Derrick) of Huntland, Tennessee; his five precious and completely perfect grandchildren, Adalynn and Ann-Thomas Francis, and Blake, Baylor, and Bo Sims; and his brother, Michael Bagwell (Beverly) of Austin, Indiana.

He was preceded in death by his parents, R.W. "Bob" Bagwell and Janet Ann Bagwell, and his mother-in-law, Morene Southard.

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Funeral arrangements are under the direction of T.W. Crow & Son Funeral Home in Scottsville, Kentucky.

Visitation will be held on Monday, June 29, from 2:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at T.W. Crow & Son Funeral Home, and will continue on Tuesday, June 30, beginning at 10:00 a.m. at Scottsville Baptist Church.

A Celebration of His Life Well Lived will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 30, at Scottsville Baptist Church.

Rick will be laid to rest at Crescent Hill Cemetery in Scottsville, Kentucky.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of donations to Scottsville Baptist Church.