Born at Bismarck, North Dakota in 1943, son of Clifford Richard and Edna Richard, he lived on the family farm until the age of 12, when his father died, so the family moved to Bismarck where he graduated from high school. After receiving a degree in Architecture from the University of North Dakota in 1967, he was drafted into the US Army and served from 1968 to 1970 in Europe.
After his military discharge, he moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota to work as an architect for three large development companies. In 1975, he moved to Winnipeg to work for the Qualico Developments Company. He later started his own architectural firm that specialized in residential design, especially of infill housing.
He married Susan Wilma Cormack and they and had a son before divorcing in 1987. He was reunited in 2000 with Jeanine "Jean" Lively (1944-2010, daughter of Ernest Lively and Lina Lively) of Brainerd, Minnesota who he had met in college in the 1960s. They married in April 2003 and took up residence near Hethrington Park, where they became actively involved in the community. A master woodworker, he was known for opening his shop to the public.
He died at Winnipeg on 16 July 2014.
See also:
Historic Sites of Manitoba: Hethrington Park / Will and Jeanine Richard Memorial Park (615 Hethrington Avenue, Winnipeg)
Winnipeg Family Division file FD87-01-10078, Willis Herman Richard and Susan Wilma Cormack, Court Registry System.
Obituary [Jeanine Lively Richard], Winnipeg Free Press, 1 April 2010, page B9.
Obituary [Will Richard], Winnipeg Free Press, 26 July 2014, page B17.
Winnipeg Estate file PR14-01-98355, Willis Herman Richard, Archives of Manitoba.
We thank Doug Chapman for providing additional information used here.
This page was prepared by Nathan Kramer and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 6 January 2024
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