Roger Gene Richardson

Roger was pre-deceased by his father and mother, Cecil and Ethel (Post) Richardson and his only sibling, older brother Robert (Bob) Richardson.

He is survived by his wonderful wife of 68 years, Joan Marie (Tovaas) Richardson.

Roger was born in Erie, Kansas on August 7, 1931 and was raised in Redfield, Kansas.

While he was in grade school, the family moved to Los Angeles, where his parents found employment in the blossoming aircraft industry. Mom worked at Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach, CA and dad worked for Lockheed Aircraft in Burbank, CA.

Roger and Bob found odd jobs themselves as youngsters, even picking berries for the fledgling Knotts Berry Farm, which is now a major Los Angeles amusement park.

Roger met the love of his life, Joan Tovaas on a blind date in 1950, shortly after enlisting in the US Air Force. Amusingly, when asked what attracted her to Roger, Joan smiled and said, “He had a good job with airman pay in the military!” Along the way, they were blessed with 3 wonderful daughters, Carol Marie, Sandra Jean, and Cynthia Lois. All are with us today and miss him very much.

After Roger enlisted in the Air Force, he received his certification as an aircraft radio operator. Much of his service time was spent in the radio operator seat serving in the 15th Troop Carrier Squadron as they moved personal and cargo between bases during the Korean War. When asked about the most exciting moment aboard the planes, he often talked about the time his pilot missed the landing on an island and slid the airplane into the brush!

After their time in the service, His older brother Bob started an upholstery business in Whittier CA (Fashion Cushion) and Roger joined in to help his brother in what became the family business. They retired from the upholstery business in September of 1993, with Roger and Joan enjoying time with daughters, son in laws and grandkids, eventually seeing 8 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.

Roger enjoyed spending time with his family, camping and driving dune buggies in the desert. He and Joan even made the journey to Alaska, DRIVING in an RV Caravan the entire way up through the USA , Canada and into the Alaskan wilderness.

The one thing we all remember about Roger was his inability to sit still. He was always busy working on something! Cars, campers, things around the house, and even in his later years restoring old lawn mowers and scooters… He would buy them as wrecks and sell them as treasures. He never liked to sit still.

Roger was always honest, always caring, always giving, and almost always smiling (except when his knees hurt!) He was a kind and gracious man who accepted all of us as we were and only wanted the best for us.

We miss him like crazy and can’t wait to see him again to catch up and listen to all the stories over and over again. Happy Trails Roger! Until we meet again!