Birth date: Aug 9, 1931 Death date: Jan 18, 2022
William was born on August 9, 1931 in Huntington, West Virginia at St. Mary's Hospital to Doskie and Milton Richmond. At the age of 12, the family of four moved across the country to Oakland, California. William graduated high sch Read Obituary
I have been thinking of Bill a lot this week. For over 37 years, he has been my father-in-law, and we created many memories together, all of them happy:
We drove from Tokyo to Kyoto squeezed in to our little van, staying at remote hostels along the way. Bill was the navigator. Remember, there was no gps then. Bill had only paper maps to plot our course. English language signs quickly disappeared when we left the big cities. He must have done a good job as we arrived safely at each destination. I recall Bill walking and holding 4 year old Terry's hand, and him comforting 2 year old Mitch when he was afraid of the tame deer in the parks of Nara. So nice to have Poppy there with his grandchildren.
Our other big road trip was in 2017 to see those same, now grown up, grandchildren in Tennessee and from there to drive on in search of Richmond ancestral places. Again, Bill was the navigator. This time with the help of google maps (whenever we had a signal). Back in the hollows of remote West Virginia it was driving by braille. It was good to see where the Richmond family had lived. I especially enjoyed hearing Bill tell the story of the flood his family survived when we visited the memorial to the 1937 Huntington Flood.
Over the years, Bill and I enjoyed many quiet breakfast together in Hawaii, just the two of us, and of course, many delicious “Bonnie cooked” family meals in Oakland. Bill and I share a love of chocolate and peanut butter, so finding a special treat to share with him when he visited was always fun. I liked when I could get him to talk about his Navy days and his memories of Keith as a baby.
Together, we saw sunflowers and whales, seashores and sunsets, hollows and mountains, ancestral places and Waffle Houses, museums and historic homes, castles and shrines, lakes and rivers. Each place I listed brings a memory of us together. I will miss making more memories with him, and greatly miss his smile and hugs.
I will miss Bill. He was a good father-in-law and I loved him: always gracious, considerate and loving to me. I will cherish the memories of our travels together. Our trip in Japan, squeezed tightly in our little van driving from Tokyo to Nara. Bill was the navigator. He must have done a good job (no gps then) because we arrived safely at each destination: Nagoya where we took a boat on the river to view specially trained coromont birds fishing for our dinner, Nara where he helped comfort Mitch who was so afraid of the deer, Ise with its beautiful shrine. Our road trip to find the Richmond roots in West Virginia and to see Mitch and Terry in Tennessee was also special. he still was our navigator even though we had google maps by then. Both he and Keith preferred to check google the old school way, with paper maps. I remember him telling about the flood his family survived when we visited the memorial in his home town. I cannot count how many times we visited together at breakfast in my home in Hawaii. Bill and I shared a love of peanut butter and chocolate and would indulge together during those visits. I will miss Bill’s hugs whenever I go home to his and Bonnie’s house. Those visits won’t be the same without his smile to greet me.
