William Joseph Richards, a Pacific Palisades resident for 38 years, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 29 at Providence St. John’s in Santa Monica at age 76.
He was born in Antigo, Wisconsin on May 18, 1939, a son of the late Harvey and Helen (Kubs) Richards.
Bill graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1964 with a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering and was a member of Delta Chi Fraternity. In 1968, he graduated from UCLA with an MBA degree.
He was employed as an engineer and scientist at Douglas Aircraft Company in Culver City, Vandenberg Air Force base and Long Beach.
Highlights of his career include working on design of the Nike Zeus DM-15S missile, Project 505 and launching the Thrust Augmented Thor-Agena missile, which was used to orbit imaging satellites over China and the USSR. As a design engineer, Bill worked on layout and production drawings for the DC-9 and DC-8-61 aircraft. After a successful career with Douglas Aircraft, Bill was named Director of Market Planning at National Aircraft Leasing (which became TigerAir) in Century City, California.
His retirement avocation was Family Genealogy. For over 25 years, Bill researched family history and documents, tracing roots of ancestors to Europe, Canada and even a birth aboard a ship on a passage in South Africa. Many ancestral roots were found in Bohemia (now the Czech Republic) and through French-Canadian colonists with over 12 generations of family ties connected. The website showcasing this research can be found at: freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wjrichards/
While residing in Pacific Palisades, Bill was an active member in the community and former board member of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association.
Bill is survived by his loving wife Dorothy of 49 years; daughters Arline LoGioco (John) and Nicole Richards; grandchildren Oliver and Tucker LoGioco; and sister Mary Spychalla (Edward).
He was preceded in death by his parents; sisters Fidelis Richards and Caryle (Richards) Ferguson; and brother John Richards.
A Mass in celebration of the life of William J. Richards will be held on Friday, Aug. 7 at 3 p.m. at Corpus Christi Church.
Donations in Bill’s memory may be made to The CLARE Foundation – Women’s Fund for Recovery, 909 Pico Boulevard, Santa Monica, CA 90404.
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