Lawrence E Richards Jr.

Lawrence E. Richards, Jr., much loved father and grandfather, passed away just after 3:00pm Tuesday, January 31, 2023. The oldest son of Lawrence Edward and Arnie May Richards, Buddy, later known to family and friends as Bud, was born November 18, 1931, in Edgewater, Colorado where he was raised with brother, Charlie and sister, Jeanne. He often shared the story of a favorite science experiment: on a cold winter’s night he would place under his bed a bottle of pop which froze overnight, lifting the top off the bottle. The family relocated to Rialto, California after his junior year of high school and his sister, Susan, was born that November. Bud attended San Bernardino High School, graduating in 1949.

Bud attended San Bernardino Valley College for 2 years, transferring to Chapman College, then located on N. Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles, to complete his bachelor’s degree in Education. He moved to Whittier, CA after graduation to begin his career in Education in Pico Rivera, CA.

Bud also joined the U.S. Naval Reserve. He would regularly recount one of his favorite stories: a cruise to Peru where, while on shore leave, he took a train up the Andes to Cuzco. Ironically, he slept a great deal of the time due to the altitude, but he always remembered the marvelous steak dinner he enjoyed for lunch that day.

Early in 1955, Bud went on a church mountain retreat where he met Claudia Couvillon. They soon started dating and were married later that year at Pomona First Christian Church on August 28th. In Whittier, they would go on to raise their 3 children: Valerie, Daniel, and Katie.

Bud was fascinated by the weather. His father-in-law built for him a weather station, which was mounted in the backyard at 9920 Colima Road. He would track the high and low temperatures daily, plus how many inches of rain fell during storms. The weather station moved with the family to 7002 Vicki Drive in December 1962. As technology evolved, one of Bud’s favorite Christmas or Father’s Day presents was the latest weather monitoring and recording gadgets.

Bud spent all of his teaching career in what would become El Rancho Unified School District in Pico Rivera, California. He began at Durfee Elementary, before moving to North Park Junior High School where for almost 2 decades he taught 8th Grade U.S. History and Government. He completed his master’s degree and a School Counseling Certificate at Whittier College. As part of a two-year federally sponsored program teaching Remedial Mathematics, he transferred to El Rancho High School. Once a position opened up, Bud realized his ambition of becoming a High School Counselor. He said this was the most rewarding job he had during his career, particularly because he was able to follow the same students from their Freshmen year until they graduated. As he was assigned a specific section of the alphabet, he often had brothers & sisters from the same families throughout the years which he also found gratifying.

RV Camping became a family favorite for weekend getaways, Christmas & Easter breaks and summer vacations. After some experimentation, Claudia & Bud purchased a 13 ½ foot Aristocrat travel trailer. The family took their first cross-country trip in 1968 to Washington, D.C. which included stops at Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, Mt. Rushmore in South Dakota and the headwaters of the Mississippi River. In 1974, their next cross-country road trip included a stop in Kansas, where the family visited Bud’s Uncle Russell & Aunt Dot at their farm outside of Salina and discovered the longevity of the Richards clan, as Bud’s 94-year-old grandfather still climbed over the fence when feeding the chickens, rather than walking all the way around through the gate. Favorite family destinations for many visits throughout the years included San Miguel Village, just north of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico; U.S. Forest Campground / Coldbrook in the San Gabriel Mountains above Azusa, CA and Mammoth Lakes, CA.

In June 1990, Bud retired from El Rancho Unified School district. Claudia and he hit the road in their Airstream trailer, heading to Bozeman, Montana via Zion & Bryce Canyons, Utah, Jackson, Wyoming and beyond – a trip on which their oldest daughter, Valerie joined them as far as Montana. All 3 were surprised and tickled when it snowed in Jackson on the first day of Summer. Bud and Claudia returned home in plenty of time for the wedding of their youngest daughter, Katie that December.

In April 1992, Bud and Claudia joined Valerie, on a 10-day Mexican Riviera cruise round trip from San Pedro, stopping at Cabo San Lucas, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa and Acapulco. The following year, the trio flew to Athens, Greece to re-board the Royal Odessey on a 2-week Mediterranean cruise, which included ports of call at Rhodes, Ephesus, Cypress, Haifa and Jerusalem, Naples, and Rome.

In February 1994, Bud and Claudia received every grandparent’s wish – Brian, their first grandson. Their happiness doubled in July 1995 when their second grandson, Robert, was born. In between their continuing RV travels, Bud & Claudia spent many happy hours, days & weeks with Dan &/or Valerie, out & about spending time and holidays with family & friends and visiting Katie & her sons in Santee or Ramona, California.

In 2010, Bud and Claudia also cruised with their son, Dan, to the Caribbean on an itinerary which included the Panama Canal.

For well over 2 decades, Bud and Claudia joined many W.B.C.C.I. and Long Beach Unit RV caravans and rallies, always making friends and catching up with family in many of the places to which they ventured. Their RV adventures took them throughout the North American hemisphere: across the U.S.A. and back again more than once; to Western Canada & Alaska; on the Copper Canyon Railroad in northern Mexico to Claudia’s birthplace: Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; to the Canadian Maritime Provinces, including Prince Edward Island and Halifax; to Desert Hot Springs and Ramona, CA. And always, Bud and Claudia were ready to go again. Another trip. Another song. Another story. Another relaxing conversation and hopefully a game to play, a puzzle to assemble, a meal to share. Always many, many hugs. And always lots of love and joy.

Bud is survived by his son, Daniel and daughters, Valerie (Richard Banda) & Katie Willson | grandsons, Brian & Robert Willson | sisters, Jeanne & Mike Lawrence; Susan & Gordon Lai | sisters-in-law, JJ Richards & Lucy Harmon | nieces, Teri & Ray Hockman; Kathy Bruner; Daysha & Randy Penn & their children, Achaia, Micah & Malachi; Maggie & Larry Jones & Maggie’s son, Mark Embrey | nephews, Brendan & Cheri Lai & their daughter, Chloe; Steve & Debi Nowacek & son Nick & his family; Paul & Janet Couvillon & their family | grandnephew, Stephen Bruner | grandnieces, Lindsey & Cody Himes & their son, Major; Christie & Douglas Lange & their daughter, Eloise; Rebekah West; Rachel & Tim Davis

A Celebration of Life will be held at the Family Home in Whittier, California.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to:

Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org/nca/donate

Lawrence will be laid to rest in Rose Hills Memorial Park, 3888 Workman Mill Rd, Whittier, California 90601; Garden of Eternity; Gate: 1, Section: 8, Lot: 453, Grave: 3.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.rosehills.com for the Richards family.