age: 85 yrs
residence: Yuma, Arizona
---since 1957
occupation: Attorney at Law

~~~

Former Yuma County Attorney Eugene Jefferson Richard, well known for his work in the community and the several commercials he had featuring several of his dogs, died Wednesday at Yuma Regional Medical Center.

Charlotte Richards said her father was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force. Richards was born Jan. 24, 1930 in Owingsville, Kentucky. Richards has been a resident of Yuma since 1957.

Richards joined the U.S. Air Force as a JAG legal officer during the Korean conflict. After that Richards returned to Arizona, where he was transferred to Yuma Air Force Base. Yuma is where Richards decided to stay after he was honorably discharged from the military.

Richards worked as an assistant County Attorney in Yuma, and decided in 1959 to run for County Attorney. After serving as County Attorney for four years, Richards started his private practice in Yuma.

Richards loved children and animals, particularly dogs. Amy was one of his first well-known dogs in the community. Amy was a Black Labrador Retriever. He also owned Counselor and Missy.

Richards never officially stopped practicing law. Charlotte Richards said her father did a lot of great work work for the community, and contributed to many non-profits and social causes, including the United Farm Workers.

She wanted the community to know her father did lots of work at no charge, and that he was a very giving man. He also sponsored many local sports teams, because his grandchildren are heavily involved in sports.

Richards also made considerable contributions to the Bark Park and the Humane Society of Yuma, because he believes in their cause.

Funeral services will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 2555 S. Engler Avenue, Yuma, at 11 am Saturday. It will be followed by a reception at the Activity Center next to the Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to any of the following: Yuma County Humane Society, 4050 S. Avenue 4 ½ E, Yuma, Arizona 85364; Wounded Warrior Project, 4150 North Drinkwater Boulevard, Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85251; Crossroads Mission, 944 S. Arizona Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364; Yuma Food Bank, 2404 E. 24th Street, Yuma, Arizona, 85364.

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Eugene Jefferson Richards passed away peacefully after a brief illness at Yuma Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, April 15, 2015.

Mr. Richards, a resident of Yuma since 1957, was born on January 24, 1930, at home, in Owingsville, Kentucky, the second child of Madge Atchison Richards, and John Adair Richards. Mr. Richards was educated in the public schools of Owingsville Kentucky. Since his mother put him in first grade at 4 years old, he graduated high school at 16 and went to Pre-Med at Morehead State University. He switched to Northern Ohio University, still Pre-Med, but decided at 18 that he wished to practice law with his father, who was a prominent trial lawyer and a person involved in the Democratic party in Kentucky. He transferred to Pre-Law at University of Kentucky, was admitted to Law School, and graduated as a practicing attorney, passing the Bar on the first try at the age of 21. Therefore, he was a practicing attorney for 63 years, and at the time of his death, held the oldest legal license number in the State of Arizona.

Mr. Richards joined the US Air Force as a JAG legal officer during the Korean conflict. His father developed active tuberculosis, and Mr. Richards requested a transfer to Arizona to help his father with his lung condition. Mr. Richards attempted unsuccessfully to get his father admitted to the Bar in Arizona so that he could fulfill his dream of them practicing law together, but his father was too ill, and returned to Kentucky.

Mr. Richards met Janice Barbara Chute, a Boston trained registered nurse working at Good Samaritan Hospital, in Phoenix, in the summer of 1954. They married in October, 1954 and he was immediately sent to Korea where he remained during the rest of the Korean conflict, representing soldiers during court martial proceedings and investigating crimes. Their daughter Charlotte was born the next summer, and Mr. Richards did not see her until she was 9 months old. When he returned to Arizona, the family was transferred to Yuma Air Force Base. Mr. Richards loved the Yuma área and decided to stay after he was honorably discharged from the military. The family at first tried Parker Arizona, with Janice working at the Indian Hospital there, but they returned to Yuma.

Paul Richards, their son, was born in 1956. Mr. Richards worked as an assistant County Attorney under Bill Helm in Yuma, and decided in 1959 to run for County Attorney. In that role, which he held for 4 years, he investigated many crimes with his friend Sheriff Lee Echols. Lee Echols was defeated for Sheriff subsequently, and Mr. Richards continued his work with Sheriff Bud Yancey. At the time, Yuma County included Yuma and La Paz County. The Richards tenure of County Attorney was so successful that Mr. Richards was featured in crime magazines. As a result of his JAG experience and his achievements as a crime investigator, he was an early inductee into the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), a group composed of former CIA agents and crime fighters. He immensely enjoyed going to the national meetings, and hobnobing with famous spies and ex military heros.

Barbara Richards, his youngest child, was born in 1960 shortly after Mr. Richards became County Attorney.

Following his tenure as County Attorney, citing his unwillingness to continue traveling all over Arizona investigating crimes, Mr. Richards resolved to stay in Yuma and open up his own law practice. He was alone for several years, and then brought several attorneys to Yuma, including Harlan Heilman, a fellow Kentuckian from Tucson, and Brian Smith. Attornies Mike Smith, Alan Bowman and Glen Gimbut are also former associates. Attorney Carol Bowman is a long time friend and associate.

Mr. Richards' practice was general, leaning more toward criminal work until he brought Brian Smith to Yuma and embarked on the emerging field of personal injury, which suited his personality, background in biology and the investigative skills he learned in the military and from his days as County Attorney.

During the farmworkers crisis in the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s, Mr. Richards leant his office out, as did many local people in Yuma and other farm áreas of the US, to the United Farm Workers.

Mr. Richards continued his law practice with several partners since the early 1960s, and the practice is still open today. The firm has been renamed Richards and Minore, with his new partner John Minore remaining at the firm to care for clients, along with the original staff who have been with the Richards law firm for many years. Jim Carroll, a retired attorney from Paradise Valley, Arizona has been with the firm for many years and continues to work as a paralegal in the office.

Some notable things about Mr. Richards legal career were that he reconized heart attacks on the job and carpel tunnel injuries as legitimate work related injuries, and through his efforts, they were recognized and compensated through Workers Compensation. He had geniune compassion and interest in the lives of his clients, a fact that was immediately apparent upon meeting him. He was a fixture at the Court House, and memorized the birthday party schedule so that he could eat cake during lunch every day, much to the chagrín of his wife, Janice.

Jeff Richards was an exceptional man. He had a passion for living, and was a true extrovert. He read voraciously, including the Wall Street Journal from cover to cover until well into his 80s. He was an insomniac who couldn't sleep at night without his beloved Blue Grass music playing on the satellite radio. Most people conceded that he was the funnest person ever to go on a vacation. He fulfilled a lifetime wish to go to Ireland in September, 2010 specifically to hear real Irish music in a real Irish Pub. He always saw the glass as half full. He saw the potential in every person he met. He encouraged hundreds of people in their endeavors, helping them into various professions, shielding them from adversity, and paving the way for them. He was indignant when someone he loved was slighted, hated bullies, and could be counted on to be fiercely protective of his family members and clients. He often proudly stated that he was told by several younger female attornies that he was their favorite male attorney because he looked them right in the face and spoke to them as colleagues. He was proud of his wife Janice's profession of nursing and highly supportive of her career.

Mr. Richards helped his extended family in Kentucky with legal and personal issues, and as such became one of the patriarchs of the extended Richards Clan of Bath County Kentucky. He could talk to anyone. Although he was brilliant and complex, he was not a snob. He could size people up in 2 minutes, and often astounded those around him by his insightfulness in predicting events. He predicted the stock market crash in the early 2000s, telling people "it feels like it did when I was a kid during the depression." He was a trusted advisor and guardian to many people in their dire hour of need, and will take many secrets to his grave. He would often laughingly say that he rehearsed the outcomes of cases, and human relationships as one would play a chess game. His children recall spending early Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, and New Years mornings sitting in the car as he bailed clients out of jail so that they could be with their families.

Mr. Richards loved animals, especially dogs. While he took many animals over the years as barter for his services, he met the love of his life, Amy, a Black Labrador Retriever in the 1990s. He was heart broken when Amy passed. He had already purchased Counselor a distant relative of Amy. He purchased another dog as a gift to a niece, and now has Missy, the daughter of Counselor as a result of his back yard breeding effort. He took special pride in giving Counselor's offspring to family and friends. He often said that if someone didn't like dogs, he couldn't trust them. He was major contributor to the Yuma Bark Park.

Mr. Richards had eclectic interests. Well into middle age he was an avid outdoorsman. He was a pilot who flew his own airplane. When he was 50 years ago, he navigated a 42 foot sailboat to Hawaii with family and friends. Later in life, he and Janice enjoyed their RV, which they parked at Hidden Shores at Imperial Dam in the Winter and Chula Vista in the Summer. He also spent several months a year with his family in Kentucky, enjoying his Eastern Kentucky roots. He inspired several people in the family into the legal profession with his infectious love of the law.

Mr. Richards always insisted that his children call him Daddy because he wanted them to feel close to him, and he will be sorely and deeply missed by his family because he was the best Daddy ever. Survivors include Janice Richards, his wife of 60 years, daughter Charlotte Richards, MD, of Yuma, Arizona, Paul Richards, of San Diego, California, and Barbara Richards, R.N. of Yuma,Arizona. Grandchildren are Thomas Jefferson Hall (wife Kristen Egeberg Hall), John Adair Hall (wife Ashley Sheperd Hall), Jacqueline Meredith Kustan, Kelle Anne Richards, Alison Barbara Richards Ross, Jefferson Franklin Richards, and Mitchell Whiting. Great Grandchildren are Kalista Hall and Juliet Hall. His Sisters are Betty Rawlings, and Cookie Hicks, both of Owingsville Kentucky. His brothers are Morgan Richards (wife Karen) and Lawrence Richards (wife Angie ) of Owingsville Kentucky and there are many nieces and nephews there as well.

He was preceded in death by his brother, John Adair Richards, II (wife Joan still survives), Mother Madge Richards and Father John Adair Richards.

Funeral services will be held at Christ Lutheran Church, 2555 South Engler Avenue, Yuma, at 11 am on 4/18/15 , followed by a reception at the Activity Center next to the Church. In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made to any of the following: Yuma County Humane Society, 4050 S. Avenue 4 ½ E, Yuma, Arizona 85364; Wounded Warrior Project, 4150 North Drinkwater Boulevard, Suite 100, Scottsdale, AZ 85251; Crossroads Mission, 944 S. Arizona Avenue, Yuma, Arizona 85364; Yuma Food Bank, 2404 E. 24th Street, Yuma, Arizona, 85364.

Published in The Yuma Sun
on Apr. 17, 2015∼Jeff Richards, 85, of Yuma died April 15, 2015, at Yuma Regional Medical Center.

An attorney and a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, he was born Jan. 24, 1930, in Owingsville, Ky.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Christ Lutheran Church, with entombment at 10:30 a.m. Monday at Desert Lawn Memorial Park.

Yuma Mortuary was in charge of arrangements.
Published by Yuma Sun from Apr. 16 to Apr. 17, 2015.