Richard Elmer Brudos

Richard was born on November 20th 1936 in Rapid City, South Dakota. He was the oldest of four children along with his brother Tom and his sisters Kathleen “Kitty” and Karen.

Richard is survived by his former wife Helen Waessil; his four children Christyne and her former husband David; Kellee and her spouse Corey Nockels; Richard “Todd”; and Sean and his spouse Lisa; as well as his beloved friend Toko. Richard will also be remembered and honored by his seven grandchildren Quinn, Cameron, Gavin, Fionn, Jordan, Calen and Sakara.

Career History

His family had moved to Stillwater MN when Richard was in fifth grade. He graduated from Stillwater High School in 1954. He became a lifeguard in summers at St. Croix River and Lily Lake beaches. As a young man he was proud to work at the Anderson windows factory in Bayport MN on his way to fund his educational ambitions.

He attended St. John’s University in Collegeville MN and double majored in physics and mathematics.

In 1957, as the cold war with the Soviet Union escalated, Richard, along with his father Elmer Brudos, worked in Thule Greenland on construction of the Ballistic Missile Early Warning System (BMEWS). He continued after graduation in 1958. In below-zero weather, it was brutal but he earned the respect to lead and enough money to self-fund his education.

A documentary of his experiences in Thule produced by Quinn Brudos-Sommers can be viewed on YouTube at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu-D6JdqgUE

Alternatively in the YouTube search box you can type: “What happened in Thule, Greenland”.

Upon returning to the U.S. in the winter of 1959 he attended the University of Minnesota taking post graduate classes. He enrolled in the R.O.T.C. program completing 6 quarters of R.O.T.C. training in 3 quarters. He was honored with the Distinguished Military Student (D.M.S.) award and received his commission as a second lieutenant.

In the fall of 1959, he began his career by teaching math and science at Hill H.S. in St. Paul MN during its opening year. He was then hired at St. Thomas University in St. Paul as the asst. audio visual director/ educational T.V. coordinator and math instructor. The following year he became the audio-visual director and T.V. coordinator at Macalester College in St. Paul. He concurrently earned his master’s degree from St. Thomas University in 1962.

In the fall of 1962, he was called to active duty for two years in the U.S. army signal corp. He was assigned to the Army Pictorial Center in New York City as a motion picture and television producer. He had an honorable discharge as a Captain.

A wonderful summation of his military career can be viewed online at the St. John’s University military honor roll at:

https://apps.csbsju.edu/military-honor-roll/name

Upon completion of his active duty, he moved to California and worked at USC for 3 years. While at USC he took 100 units of graduate classes, taught graduate classes and was an administrator of special programs. His time at USC culminated in being named Director of the National Instructional Materials Center for special Education for the U.S. Office of Education (U.S.O.E.) / USC.

In 1968 he accepted a position at Pasadena H.S. as math teacher where he subsequently worked as a counselor.

In 1972 he became an assistant dean at Pepperdine University. He was also Director of the Instructional Development Agency in conjunction with the U.S.O.E. There along with his business partner, he created “Course & Practicum”, a continuing education (C.E.U) program for teachers including a course with dolphins at Marineland.

In 1974 Richard joined the Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools as a coordinator of the Auditory Skills Project, a research program to improve the skills of hearing-impaired children.

In 1977 he was hired as Director of learning resources and T.V. Studio at Harbor College. He completed his career teaching at East LA College as a professor of math retiring from the Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) in 2006. He was recognized for distinguished service to his students receiving the Del Día Maestro (Teacher of the Day) award for several years as acknowledged by student nominators and the Faculty Academic Senate. This recognition was well-deserved as he often used humor in the classroom and went beyond his duties to help his students.

Private Life

Richard was active at St. Lawrence Martyr Church in Redondo Beach CA as a lector since 1975. He was a leader with his wife, Helen, in Christian Family Movement (CFM) for many years. He participated as a sponsor and leader in the R.C.I.A. (Right of Christian Initiation of Adults), a program that instructed prospective converts to Catholicism. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus since 1954.

Richard joined the Ala-Anon Family Group in 1993, a fellowship that offers a program of recovery for the families and friends of alcoholics. He was especially proud to be selected as Ala-Anon Chairperson for the 2006 South Bay Torrance Roundup and usage of the theme “You Are Not Alone” he recommended. He was grateful to be the sponsor for several newcomers to the program.

As a father, Richard was very involved in his children’s lives. He was a manager for his sons’ Pacific Coast Little League and participated in the Y.M.C.A. Indian Guides for several years. He found great joy supporting his daughters in their music and sports activities. He took his family on many camping trips and was the main “photography/film director” creating most of the family visuals which often had him BEHIND the camera!