Obituary of Norman H. Richards

Norman "Norm" H. Richards, 85, passed away peacefully on November 7, 2014 in Santa Cruz, CA. Norm spent his formative years in Muncie, IN. His family moved to San Diego, CA in 1943. He graduated from San Diego High School and then continued his education at San Diego State College and later at DeVry Technical Institute, Chicago, IL, receiving his 1st class FCC license in 1950. He entered the US Navy later that year and was stationed in Alameda and Crows Landing in CA and during the Korean War in Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. During his Navy career he was a seaplane patrol squadron's radar operator & maintenance tech. In 1957 Norm was recruited and trained by IBM. He held various engineering positions in the early days of computer operations, manufacturing, and testing. He later advanced to programmer supervisor of information and manufacturing systems. During his 27 year career at IBM he worked at their plants in Kingston, NY, Santa Monica, Marysville, and San Jose, CA and Tucson, AZ. He retired from IBM in 1984 in Tucson. Norm married Juliet Christine Garcia in 1952 in Gustine, CA and they raised four children. He later married Judy Teuteberg in Tucson. Norm enjoyed travel to many states in the U.S. along with many countries in eastern and western Europe, Mexico and China. Norm enjoyed working with tools, computers, and audio and photography equipment. In Tucson he developed a passion for the University of Arizona's men's basketball and became a season ticket holder. Norm is survived by wife Judy Teuteberg Richards of Scotts Valley, CA; daughter June (Scott) Salsbury of Los Gatos, CA; son Michael Richards of Big Sur, CA; son Patrick (Lynn) Richards of Aptos, CA; son Steven Richards of Paso Robles, CA; sister Ann (John) DePalma of Saratoga, CA; brother John David Richards (Myrna) of Garden Grove, CA and 5 grandchildren: Katie Salsbury and Devon, Harrison, Lilly, and Mia Richards. Norm's family want to express their sincere appreciation to the Gryspos family of Alexandria Victoria in Santa Cruz, CA for their loving, kind and compassionate care during the final months of his life. Norm was a sweet and charming gentleman who will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him. A private celebration of Norm's life was held.