Paul Richards, 53: Native Palisadian

Paul Russell Richards, 53, passed away suddenly at his home in West Los Angeles on Friday, September 26. The cause is undetermined. Richards, the oldest son of Russell and Jan Richards, grew up in Pacific Palisades on Mt. Holyoke Avenue, near the Via bluffs. ‘He loved the Palisades,’ said his sister, Anne VanMiddlesworth. ‘My parents bought the house in 1952 and ours was the only family ever to live in it. We used to play on the bluffs; it was like our own private playground.’ According to VanMiddlesworth, Richards was proud of their home’s single-family history, and he even wrote an essay about it that was published in the Palisadian-Post. Part of it read, ‘We grew up in a house that nobody had lived in before, so everything that ever became of that home was solely our doing.’ He detailed the joys of growing up on the bluffs, including his memory of ‘Jimmy Olsen taking me down into Temescal Canyon (before the highway was built) to show me how to trap raccoons.’ When the house was sold, the new owners tore it down, and Richards concluded, ‘That house was unique, that was our house. So, I’m glad the house is gone, because nobody else can try to make memories in the home I grew up in.’ Richards attended local schools, including Palisades High, before enlisting in the U.S. Army. After his service, he worked at the family business, the Barrington Hardware Store. For the last 15 years, he managed Wally’s Cigar Shop in West L.A. A memorial service was held on the Via bluffs last Thursday. Richards’ sister recounted how customers and people the family had never met told stories about his kindness and how he always remembered their birthdays and details about their lives. One customer told the gathering that on his 40th birthday, Richards handed him a 35-year-old bottle of Scotch and wished him a happy birthday. The customer recounted that it was the only gift he received that day.  In addition to his sister Anne and his brother Robert, Richards is survived by his daughter, Heather Anne Richards, who is attending UC Riverside. ‘He was incredibly proud of his daughter,’ VanMiddlesworth said.