Obituary of Thomas Charles Richardson

THOMAS RICHARDSON Major Thomas Charles Richardson passed away the evening of December 5, 2016 at the age of 98. Born in Boston, on April 13, 1918, he grew up in Quincy, MA. He spent his early years in the Boston area where he learned to sail in the Boston Harbor. He played the banjo, played baseball and boxed in his early years. Before WWII he worked on building battle ships. While working there he almost fell off the bow when a plane flew overhead. That is when he decided he wanted to fly. He joined the Army Air Corp in 1943. He flew 16 missions in the Philippines and Japan as a B-24 bomber pilot. He had a distinguished career and was awarded 5 medals including the Air Medal for going above and beyond the mission requirements. During his time in the service he met and fell madly in love with Patricia J. Bird during his 2 week stay in Seattle. They were married in Camas, WA on December 27, 1945. They chose to settle in Camas, Washington where they raised 6 children. Dad never lost his Boston accent. He loved fishing, sailing, water witching and was a collector of many things including knives and 3, 000+ bottles, which were just a few of his passions. His children had many adventures, digging in old dumps and sailing up to the San Juan Islands in the sailboat he bought after Mom made him sell the bottle collection. He sold real estate in Camas for 50 years, served as a city councilman and was in the Army Reserves until 1975. Dad never used swearwords but would say "God Bless America!" or "Son of Gun!" He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Patricia, his children Stephen, Nick, Mark, Patrick and Mary. Sadly, he was preceded in death by his oldest son, Tom. A funeral mass was held on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 at 9AM at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Camas. Inurnment was at the Camas Cemetery. Straub's Funeral Home & Columbia River Cremation in Camas was in charge of the arrangements. To send condolences or to sign the online guestbook please visit www.straubsfuneralhome.com.