Will Richardson, a Redwood City real estate broker whose community activities earned him recognition as Citizen of the Year in 1997, died Jan. 4 in San Diego at the age of 83. His family, which plans a celebration of his life this spring, says he’d had a long battle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The Cincinnati native’s family moved to Redwood City in 1949, where Richardson spent most of his life. After college, he worked for United Airlines but then joined his father as a real estate agent, and later a broker at Terrace Realty. He retired from real estate in 2012 after 48-plus years.
Family members say he was known for his generosity, his poetry-writing and his love for the San Francisco Giants and the 49ers. An avid outdoorsman, Richardson enjoyed fishing, skiing, and bicycling, pedaling thousands of miles across the country many times. Active in the Catholic Church, Richardson was also instrumental in the creation of the Bethlehem A.D. live nativity.
He is survived by his wife of 63 years, LaVonne; his children Jeff (Penny) Richardson of Redwood City; Karen (Carl) Wallstedt of San Diego; and Mark (Jill) Richardson of Reno; as well as numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial donations be made to the Sequoia Awards, one of his activities.
