Joseph Alan Richards beloved by all who knew him, passed away at the age of 82 on Tuesday November 10th 2020. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah on April 26 1938, he was the 11th of 12 children born to John Willis and Maggie Reid Richards. He married Gloria Bailey in the Salt Lake Temple on July 12th 1963. They built a home next door to where he grew up. He is survived by his wife and children: Joseph Todd (Carolyn) Richards, Troy Alan (Tammy) Richards, Traci (Elesban) Blanco, Tiffany (Sam) Chak; 12 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.
He was a proud Cyprus High School graduate, the class of 1956. He enjoyed meeting classmates monthly for breakfast. While in school he ran track and participated in sprints, broad jump, and the hurdles.
He served in the United States Army for 3 1/2 years and spent some time in Heidelberg, Germany. His duties ranged from a truck driver, assistant supply sergeant, worked in the armory, and a paratrooper. While he was there he bought a fire engine red Austin-Healey 3000, and took it on road trips to visit France, Denmark, Holland, Belgium, Brussels, and Austria. He even had his car shipped back to the states.
He worked at Kennecott Copper Corporation for 35 years as a Lineman. He was part of the crew who installed the lights and electricity to make the "lighting of the C" possible. After retiring from KCC, he worked for Granite School District driving school bus and shuttling diesels for his nephew.
He had many interests and talents including: scouting in which he received the Silver Beaver, shooting trap where he hit 199 out of 200 clays and archery where he belonged to the DATUS archery club and participated in winter leagues for many years. Other hobbies included hunting, camping, raising animals, gardening, cheering on his children in swimming and water polo. One thing that we will miss is that he was a true handyman who could fix just about anything.
He and Gloria served a service mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the Utah State Prison for 3 years. He also served another service mission at the Bishop's Storehouse.
He and Gloria took the kids on road trips to various states sightseeing and visiting National Parks. He and Gloria also did some traveling abroad to Japan, China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Cambodia, Peru, Mexico, Jamaica and various islands in the Caribbean. They had more places that they wanted to visit and explore. Family meant everything to him and he always made sure to tell us how much he loved us.
We would like to thank everyone for their outpouring of love and acts of service that has been shown to our family at this time, we really appreciate it.
A graveside service with military honors will be held at 3:00 pm at Valley View Memorial Park located at 4335 West 4100 South in West Valley City, Utah. Those in attendance are expected to wear masks and observe social distancing.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.8.18