Harold E Richardson

RICHARDSON, HIGGINS, HILDING, WESSENDORF, KAMINSKI

Posted By: Alvin Poole (email)
Date: 12/7/2017 at 10:31:38

Harold E. Richardson, 68, of Azusa, Calif, formerly of Modale, passed away on April 5, 2017.

A graveside memorial service will be held at Mount Carmel Cemetery in Missouri Valley on Sept. 2.

Harold was born Dec. 17, 1948 in Council Bluffs to D.W “Scotty” Richardson and Mary Marjorie (Higgins)Richardson. In 1952, at age 3, Harold contracted polio and was treated at Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs. While there, he was confined for 4 months to an Iron Lung which forced breathing that he was unable to do on his own, followed by several more months of therapy and then continued therapy after he was discharged. Harold attended school in Modale for grades 1 through 7, followed by grades 8 through 12 in Harrison County schools. After graduating from West Harrison High School, Mondamin in 1967, he went on to Iowa State University in Ames, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering. Later in his career, Harold received an MBA from the University of Redlands in Redlands, California.

Upon completion of his degree at Iowa State, Harold moved to Seattle, Wash. to work for The Boeing Company, later working for NASA in Barstow, Calif. Next, he began tracking deep space shots and satellites at the Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena, Calif. After many years at JPL, Harold finished out his career at Mt San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. He was in charge of a department and laboratory dedicated to assisting special needs students in the technical adaptations needed to pursue their work at the college level. Harold was a voracious reader, technically very savvy and quite a talented amateur photographer. Due to his interest in history and the arts, he amassed a large collection of books, both current and vintage. He also collected Civil War memorabilia with an emphasis on Iowa’s part in that conflict, World War I and World War II artifacts plus a large amount of Oriental art and the work of contemporary California artists. This led to his dealing in antiques in retirement.

Harold was preceded in death by his father and his mother.

Survivors include his brother, Don Richardson(Suzanne) of Marco Island, Fla., nephew Scott Richardson(Natalie) of Spring Hill, Tenn., nieces Leah Hilding(Matt) of Western Springs, Ill. and Sara Wessendorf (Dave Kaminski) of Chicago, Ill., great-nephews Sam Richardson, Henry Richardson, Ryder Hilding and Brody Hilding and great-nieces Marin Richardson, Vivi Richardson and Kenzie Kaminski and many cousins and friends.

Hennessey Funeral Home 30 Aug 2017