Obituary for John Patrick Richards "Pat"
John Patrick Richards (“Pat”), passed away peacefully in his home on April 14, 2023.
Pat was born in Hong Kong on August 23, 1951, to Alfred Norman Richards (also “Pat”) and Emma Richards (née Leong). Pat grew up in the Kowloon Tong neighborhood of Hong Kong, spending many of his days playing soccer, riding the Star Ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, and going on family outings to the New Territories. As a teenager, Pat and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. In February 1984, Pat married his wife Anne. He lived in the Bay Area until 1995 when he moved to Castle Rock, Colorado with his family, where he would reside for the rest of his life.
Professionally, Pat was a Telecommunications Engineer, originally starting with Pacific Bell and working at various communications companies before retiring from Avaya in 2001. Pat enjoyed a year of retirement, but quickly got back to work with his own telecommunications consulting company, 3CComm LLC. Pat eventually took another job with NACR/Converge One, where he worked until retiring again in 2019. In this job, Pat travelled to nearly every state in the country managing phone system upgrades and implementations. Pat successfully implemented phone systems at the Cisco Campus in San Jose, University of Colorado at Boulder, Auraria campus, 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, and Nordstrom’s stores across the country, to name a few. Chances are if you’ve picked up a phone in a Nordstrom’s, Pat was responsible for installing the system. Throughout his career, Pat would often serve as tech support to help his colleagues troubleshoot issues and he truly enjoyed fixing things and finding solutions to problems. Pat made many friends throughout his career and always had great memories to share about his travels.
Personally, Pat was well known for his green thumb and spent many of his weekends tending to the yard, garden, and greenhouse. Pat took great pride in his home and yard, and it showed in his meticulous work and attention to detail. He earned the nickname “MacGyver” because he could fix almost anything, even without the tools necessary to do so, and he would often help his friends with difficult household jobs and tasks. For instance, one spring when his riding mower wouldn’t start, he crafted a new fuel line out of a nebulizer hose, despite secretly wanting the mower not to start so he could go buy a new one.
Pat loved Formula One racing, often waking up early in the morning to watch the races live as they took place in other parts of the world. In 2008, Pat had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore, an experience he frequently and fondly recalled. Pat also loved soccer, particularly, the English Premier League, and spent many of his weekend mornings watching the matches. He loved music and had a diverse and eclectic taste in genres from Bossa Nova to Motown to Flamenco. He and his son Brendan often enjoyed shopping for used vinyl records together.
Pat enjoyed many of the simple things in life. He loved a cup of noodles or a Costco hot dog. He had a famous sweet tooth, loving dark chocolate and dried Chinese plums. He enjoyed going to dim sum and would also stop at the Chinese market to look for some treats to bring home. After spending most of his day driving his tractor in the yard or doing various tasks around the house, Pat would often take a quick afternoon snooze on the couch. He enjoyed watching Korean and Chinese movies and soap operas on his iPad. He loved cars and would frequently cruise the internet for vintage sports cars. He often spoke about having a Jaguar and Porsche when he was younger, which he eventually sold to accommodate the needs of his growing family.
Pat loved to travel, and he did so extensively around the country and the world. As a child, Pat traveled with his family throughout Asia to Saigon, Bangkok, and Tokyo. As an adult, he enjoyed family trips to Ireland (where his father was from), the UK, Spain, France, the Caribbean, and Canada (where his daughter Tiffany resides), just to name a few. In the winter of 2012, he went on a particularly memorable trip with his son Brendan, and wife Anne, to Hong Kong, (for the first time since he left as a teenager), Vietnam, and Cambodia. All agreed it was the best vacation they had ever had. Of all the places, Pat loved Hawaii the most. He loved the weather, the lifestyle, and enjoyed sunbathing while listening to tunes on the beach. He frequently spoke about wanting to purchase property there and truly enjoy his retirement.
Above all, Pat was a devoted husband, father, son, uncle, brother, and friend. He put his family first, was always willing to help when needed, was generous with his time and resources, got along with everyone and had a calm, friendly, down-to-earth demeanor. In passing, Pat is reunited with his father and mother. Pat is survived by his wife of thirty-nine years, Anne; sons Brendan and Patrick and his wife Jill; daughters Tiffany and her partner Eddy; Jessica and her husband Vince; Shawna and her husband Rene; grandchildren Tati, Owen, and Elway; siblings Michael, Moira, Maureen, and Kathleen; and niece Christina and husband Jeff; as well as nephews Donovan and Andrew. Pat will forever be in our hearts and remembered always.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Pat’s favorite charity, Douglas County Aging Resources at
https://www.agingresourcesdougco.org/. The team at Douglas County Aging Resources was a big help to Pat and his family over the past few years and they are a great support to the homebound, disabled, and elderly in the community.
Pat was born in Hong Kong on August 23, 1951, to Alfred Norman Richards (also “Pat”) and Emma Richards (née Leong). Pat grew up in the Kowloon Tong neighborhood of Hong Kong, spending many of his days playing soccer, riding the Star Ferry between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, and going on family outings to the New Territories. As a teenager, Pat and his family immigrated to the United States, settling in the San Francisco Bay Area. In February 1984, Pat married his wife Anne. He lived in the Bay Area until 1995 when he moved to Castle Rock, Colorado with his family, where he would reside for the rest of his life.
Professionally, Pat was a Telecommunications Engineer, originally starting with Pacific Bell and working at various communications companies before retiring from Avaya in 2001. Pat enjoyed a year of retirement, but quickly got back to work with his own telecommunications consulting company, 3CComm LLC. Pat eventually took another job with NACR/Converge One, where he worked until retiring again in 2019. In this job, Pat travelled to nearly every state in the country managing phone system upgrades and implementations. Pat successfully implemented phone systems at the Cisco Campus in San Jose, University of Colorado at Boulder, Auraria campus, 30 Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, and Nordstrom’s stores across the country, to name a few. Chances are if you’ve picked up a phone in a Nordstrom’s, Pat was responsible for installing the system. Throughout his career, Pat would often serve as tech support to help his colleagues troubleshoot issues and he truly enjoyed fixing things and finding solutions to problems. Pat made many friends throughout his career and always had great memories to share about his travels.
Personally, Pat was well known for his green thumb and spent many of his weekends tending to the yard, garden, and greenhouse. Pat took great pride in his home and yard, and it showed in his meticulous work and attention to detail. He earned the nickname “MacGyver” because he could fix almost anything, even without the tools necessary to do so, and he would often help his friends with difficult household jobs and tasks. For instance, one spring when his riding mower wouldn’t start, he crafted a new fuel line out of a nebulizer hose, despite secretly wanting the mower not to start so he could go buy a new one.
Pat loved Formula One racing, often waking up early in the morning to watch the races live as they took place in other parts of the world. In 2008, Pat had the opportunity to attend the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix of Singapore, an experience he frequently and fondly recalled. Pat also loved soccer, particularly, the English Premier League, and spent many of his weekend mornings watching the matches. He loved music and had a diverse and eclectic taste in genres from Bossa Nova to Motown to Flamenco. He and his son Brendan often enjoyed shopping for used vinyl records together.
Pat enjoyed many of the simple things in life. He loved a cup of noodles or a Costco hot dog. He had a famous sweet tooth, loving dark chocolate and dried Chinese plums. He enjoyed going to dim sum and would also stop at the Chinese market to look for some treats to bring home. After spending most of his day driving his tractor in the yard or doing various tasks around the house, Pat would often take a quick afternoon snooze on the couch. He enjoyed watching Korean and Chinese movies and soap operas on his iPad. He loved cars and would frequently cruise the internet for vintage sports cars. He often spoke about having a Jaguar and Porsche when he was younger, which he eventually sold to accommodate the needs of his growing family.
Pat loved to travel, and he did so extensively around the country and the world. As a child, Pat traveled with his family throughout Asia to Saigon, Bangkok, and Tokyo. As an adult, he enjoyed family trips to Ireland (where his father was from), the UK, Spain, France, the Caribbean, and Canada (where his daughter Tiffany resides), just to name a few. In the winter of 2012, he went on a particularly memorable trip with his son Brendan, and wife Anne, to Hong Kong, (for the first time since he left as a teenager), Vietnam, and Cambodia. All agreed it was the best vacation they had ever had. Of all the places, Pat loved Hawaii the most. He loved the weather, the lifestyle, and enjoyed sunbathing while listening to tunes on the beach. He frequently spoke about wanting to purchase property there and truly enjoy his retirement.
Above all, Pat was a devoted husband, father, son, uncle, brother, and friend. He put his family first, was always willing to help when needed, was generous with his time and resources, got along with everyone and had a calm, friendly, down-to-earth demeanor. In passing, Pat is reunited with his father and mother. Pat is survived by his wife of thirty-nine years, Anne; sons Brendan and Patrick and his wife Jill; daughters Tiffany and her partner Eddy; Jessica and her husband Vince; Shawna and her husband Rene; grandchildren Tati, Owen, and Elway; siblings Michael, Moira, Maureen, and Kathleen; and niece Christina and husband Jeff; as well as nephews Donovan and Andrew. Pat will forever be in our hearts and remembered always.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Pat’s favorite charity, Douglas County Aging Resources at
https://www.agingresourcesdougco.org/. The team at Douglas County Aging Resources was a big help to Pat and his family over the past few years and they are a great support to the homebound, disabled, and elderly in the community.