Obituary for Larry Samuel Richardson
Dr. Larry S. Richardson
3/17/1935 - 11/22/2021
Dr. Larry Samuel Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 22, 2021, in Bellingham, Washington. He was born near Edmonds, Washington, on March 17, 1935, to Alice and Samuel (Stan) Richardson.
Larry developed his capacity for hard work at a young age. He helped his father at his saw sharpening business and tended a large victory garden during World War II to feed the family. When he was 11, his father passed away, and Larry helped his mother Alice support his four younger siblings, Ron, Dan, John, and Cherie. He endured heavy manual work such as cutting and loading wood or shoveling coal into the cellar to heat the house. The family was poor and relied on generous donations of food and clothes from relatives and neighbors. Larry picked up odd jobs wherever he could, such as delivering newspapers, working at a boathouse on Lake Washington (sometimes in exchange for fish), being a golf caddie, and working at J.C. Penney and Sears in Seattle, moving mattresses.
Larry discovered his love for music when he was in early grade school. He wanted piano lessons at age six and paid the instructor with milk from the family cow. While waiting his turn for one of his lessons, he found a toy drum. In his own words, he “grabbed that drum, started playing on it, and never stopped loving drums.”
Larry’s family, though poor in money, was rich in music. Everyone played several instruments and most of them worked as professional musicians at various times. Alice played the guitar, Larry was a professional percussionist, Cherie was a professional vocalist and guitar performer, and Dan was a professional bass player. The family would spend several evenings each week playing music together on a wide variety stringed, percussion, and wind instruments. Larry knew hundreds of “standard” songs and could play and sing them in various keys and styles. The summer before he died, he entertained friends by playing songs on the piano from memory, with full chording and key changes, even though he had dementia.
Larry studied music at Edmonds High School, where he and fellow percussionists would practice daily after school. He also played tennis and was a member of the debate team for four years. Larry was deeply influenced by his maternal Grandfather Main, who took Larry on extended hunting trips, sparking a lifelong interest in the forests and geography of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. His academic and musical future was influenced by several special teachers, especially orchestra director Robert Anderson at Edmonds High School, who helped Larry see beyond his hardscrabble life, allowing him to develop a vision of a professional career.
Larry was accepted at Western Washington State College on a music scholarship. He also received a music scholarship at the University of Washington to study percussion with elite instructors from the Seattle Symphony. He attended the U. of W. for two quarters and earned the honor of being a drummer in the highly competitive Husky marching band. He was also offered a full-time, paid position as percussionist with the Seattle Symphony. However, Larry’s high school sweetheart, Marilyn Tucker, was attending Western, and Larry decided to give up the scholarship at UW, the prestige of the marching band, and the future of playing with the Seattle Symphony. Love conquered all! He returned to Western to complete his degree in music with a minor in speech, and a short time later he and Marilyn got married. Larry was able to pay his way through college from his earnings in a jazz trio where he played the drum set.
Larry was active in Western’s Campus Christian Fellowship. He was influenced by its charismatic leader Reverend Alfred E. Dale, who had been an active participant in the Free Speech Movement in San Francisco. Larry was also involved in the debate program and campus political life, including actively advocating for civil rights for Western students of color who were harassed or even beaten by the Bellingham Police.
Larry’s first teaching job was on the Neah Bay Reservation, where he was hired as band director and Marilyn was hired as an elementary teacher. The Macaw Nation elders were especially welcoming because Marilyn’s parents had taught in the same schools 28 years earlier. Soon Marilyn and Larry started a family with the birth of sons Mark and Dale.
When Larry’s high school band director left Edmonds High School to teach at the college level, he recruited Larry as his replacement. Larry was also hired as the Edmonds debate coach. Between regular teaching duties, pep rallies, pep band, concerts, debate prep, and debate tournaments, Larry was responsible for so many activities that he said he “would meet myself coming around the corner.” He still found time to participate in community symphonies and, with his former mentor Robert Anderson in 1962, created the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, which continues to perform in Edmonds.
While teaching in Edmonds, Larry spent three summers completing a Master’s degree in music education from Central Washington State College. His thesis was an orchestral arrangement of music for traditional dances from the Macaw Nation. Larry took his family along during these summers by camping at a Main Family-owned property near the Teanaway River, known to insiders as Twenty-Nine Pines. Many happy evenings were filled by Larry’s mother Alice leading sing-alongs with her children, grandchildren, and their many cousins gathered around the fire with guitars, banjos, ukuleles and plenty of voices.
Larry received a grant from the US Department of Education and took a sabbatical leave to purse Ph.D. graduate studies in Speech Communications at Washington State University. The young Richardson family now included Eric, their third son, and finances were tight. They made ends meet when Larry was hired as a WSU Teaching Assistant and Marilyn took a part-time secretarial job at their church. Summers included more camping throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, and special extended gatherings at Twenty-Nine Pines.
After completing his graduate coursework at WSU, Larry joined the faculty of the Department of Speech at Western in 1970. Larry was a highly successful speech and debate coach for 25 years. He served as chairman of the Department of Communication Studies at WWU for 20 years. His students won numerous national awards and honors, and his leadership and service created the foundation for the highly successful Western debate program which continues to this day.
Many of his students were active high school and college speech and debate coaches who also served in national and state leadership positions. He created a revered summer program at Western for high school debaters, helping to train many up-coming generations of debaters. His department won a national award for sending the biggest percentage of graduates into debate coaching and speech teaching of any university in the country. Other students were notable members of the legal profession, higher education, and business communities in Washington state and elsewhere.
Larry served in a number of leadership positions in many national speech organizations, including in the National Debate Tournament (NDT), Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), Pi Kappa Delta, National Individual Events Tournament (NIET), Northwest Forensics Conference, Western Speech Communication Association (as Speech Activities Coordinator), and the International Debate and Discussion committee of the National Communication Association. He was an active scholar in debate theory and practice and the rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement.
Larry was a member of the Bellingham First Congregational Church for many years. He served on various church committees and occasionally played his drums to accompany church music. Larry also enjoyed performing as percussionist for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra.
When the Richardsons’ oldest son became affected by mental health issues, Larry worked tirelessly as his advocate, helping locate treatment and other services to assist his son’s recovery. Larry also became an active member of the Washington Alliance on Mental Health and served as president of the local chapter, lobbying the state legislature on behalf of his son and this organization.
Larry was preceded in death by his brothers Ron, Dan, John, and sister Cherie, as well as sons Mark and Eric. He is survived by Marilyn Richardson, his wife and best friend of 70 years, and son Dale Richardson, Dale’s wife Catherine, granddaughters Carina and Lillian, and daughter-in-law Lani Pollock, surviving spouse of son Eric Richardson. Larry is also survived by many Richardson nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the Bellingham First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwell Ave., at 2:00 on February 20, 2022.
Gifts in memory of Larry can be made online to the Larry and Marilyn Richardson Endowment for Debate Scholarships at WWU at www.wwu.edu/give, or by check payable to the WWU Foundation and mailed to WWU Foundation, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9034 (please indicate Larry and Marilyn Richardson Scholarship on the memo line of your check).
3/17/1935 - 11/22/2021
Dr. Larry Samuel Richardson passed away peacefully in his sleep on November 22, 2021, in Bellingham, Washington. He was born near Edmonds, Washington, on March 17, 1935, to Alice and Samuel (Stan) Richardson.
Larry developed his capacity for hard work at a young age. He helped his father at his saw sharpening business and tended a large victory garden during World War II to feed the family. When he was 11, his father passed away, and Larry helped his mother Alice support his four younger siblings, Ron, Dan, John, and Cherie. He endured heavy manual work such as cutting and loading wood or shoveling coal into the cellar to heat the house. The family was poor and relied on generous donations of food and clothes from relatives and neighbors. Larry picked up odd jobs wherever he could, such as delivering newspapers, working at a boathouse on Lake Washington (sometimes in exchange for fish), being a golf caddie, and working at J.C. Penney and Sears in Seattle, moving mattresses.
Larry discovered his love for music when he was in early grade school. He wanted piano lessons at age six and paid the instructor with milk from the family cow. While waiting his turn for one of his lessons, he found a toy drum. In his own words, he “grabbed that drum, started playing on it, and never stopped loving drums.”
Larry’s family, though poor in money, was rich in music. Everyone played several instruments and most of them worked as professional musicians at various times. Alice played the guitar, Larry was a professional percussionist, Cherie was a professional vocalist and guitar performer, and Dan was a professional bass player. The family would spend several evenings each week playing music together on a wide variety stringed, percussion, and wind instruments. Larry knew hundreds of “standard” songs and could play and sing them in various keys and styles. The summer before he died, he entertained friends by playing songs on the piano from memory, with full chording and key changes, even though he had dementia.
Larry studied music at Edmonds High School, where he and fellow percussionists would practice daily after school. He also played tennis and was a member of the debate team for four years. Larry was deeply influenced by his maternal Grandfather Main, who took Larry on extended hunting trips, sparking a lifelong interest in the forests and geography of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. His academic and musical future was influenced by several special teachers, especially orchestra director Robert Anderson at Edmonds High School, who helped Larry see beyond his hardscrabble life, allowing him to develop a vision of a professional career.
Larry was accepted at Western Washington State College on a music scholarship. He also received a music scholarship at the University of Washington to study percussion with elite instructors from the Seattle Symphony. He attended the U. of W. for two quarters and earned the honor of being a drummer in the highly competitive Husky marching band. He was also offered a full-time, paid position as percussionist with the Seattle Symphony. However, Larry’s high school sweetheart, Marilyn Tucker, was attending Western, and Larry decided to give up the scholarship at UW, the prestige of the marching band, and the future of playing with the Seattle Symphony. Love conquered all! He returned to Western to complete his degree in music with a minor in speech, and a short time later he and Marilyn got married. Larry was able to pay his way through college from his earnings in a jazz trio where he played the drum set.
Larry was active in Western’s Campus Christian Fellowship. He was influenced by its charismatic leader Reverend Alfred E. Dale, who had been an active participant in the Free Speech Movement in San Francisco. Larry was also involved in the debate program and campus political life, including actively advocating for civil rights for Western students of color who were harassed or even beaten by the Bellingham Police.
Larry’s first teaching job was on the Neah Bay Reservation, where he was hired as band director and Marilyn was hired as an elementary teacher. The Macaw Nation elders were especially welcoming because Marilyn’s parents had taught in the same schools 28 years earlier. Soon Marilyn and Larry started a family with the birth of sons Mark and Dale.
When Larry’s high school band director left Edmonds High School to teach at the college level, he recruited Larry as his replacement. Larry was also hired as the Edmonds debate coach. Between regular teaching duties, pep rallies, pep band, concerts, debate prep, and debate tournaments, Larry was responsible for so many activities that he said he “would meet myself coming around the corner.” He still found time to participate in community symphonies and, with his former mentor Robert Anderson in 1962, created the Cascade Symphony Orchestra, which continues to perform in Edmonds.
While teaching in Edmonds, Larry spent three summers completing a Master’s degree in music education from Central Washington State College. His thesis was an orchestral arrangement of music for traditional dances from the Macaw Nation. Larry took his family along during these summers by camping at a Main Family-owned property near the Teanaway River, known to insiders as Twenty-Nine Pines. Many happy evenings were filled by Larry’s mother Alice leading sing-alongs with her children, grandchildren, and their many cousins gathered around the fire with guitars, banjos, ukuleles and plenty of voices.
Larry received a grant from the US Department of Education and took a sabbatical leave to purse Ph.D. graduate studies in Speech Communications at Washington State University. The young Richardson family now included Eric, their third son, and finances were tight. They made ends meet when Larry was hired as a WSU Teaching Assistant and Marilyn took a part-time secretarial job at their church. Summers included more camping throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana, and special extended gatherings at Twenty-Nine Pines.
After completing his graduate coursework at WSU, Larry joined the faculty of the Department of Speech at Western in 1970. Larry was a highly successful speech and debate coach for 25 years. He served as chairman of the Department of Communication Studies at WWU for 20 years. His students won numerous national awards and honors, and his leadership and service created the foundation for the highly successful Western debate program which continues to this day.
Many of his students were active high school and college speech and debate coaches who also served in national and state leadership positions. He created a revered summer program at Western for high school debaters, helping to train many up-coming generations of debaters. His department won a national award for sending the biggest percentage of graduates into debate coaching and speech teaching of any university in the country. Other students were notable members of the legal profession, higher education, and business communities in Washington state and elsewhere.
Larry served in a number of leadership positions in many national speech organizations, including in the National Debate Tournament (NDT), Cross Examination Debate Association (CEDA), Pi Kappa Delta, National Individual Events Tournament (NIET), Northwest Forensics Conference, Western Speech Communication Association (as Speech Activities Coordinator), and the International Debate and Discussion committee of the National Communication Association. He was an active scholar in debate theory and practice and the rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement.
Larry was a member of the Bellingham First Congregational Church for many years. He served on various church committees and occasionally played his drums to accompany church music. Larry also enjoyed performing as percussionist for the Bellingham Symphony Orchestra.
When the Richardsons’ oldest son became affected by mental health issues, Larry worked tirelessly as his advocate, helping locate treatment and other services to assist his son’s recovery. Larry also became an active member of the Washington Alliance on Mental Health and served as president of the local chapter, lobbying the state legislature on behalf of his son and this organization.
Larry was preceded in death by his brothers Ron, Dan, John, and sister Cherie, as well as sons Mark and Eric. He is survived by Marilyn Richardson, his wife and best friend of 70 years, and son Dale Richardson, Dale’s wife Catherine, granddaughters Carina and Lillian, and daughter-in-law Lani Pollock, surviving spouse of son Eric Richardson. Larry is also survived by many Richardson nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held at the Bellingham First Congregational Church, 2401 Cornwell Ave., at 2:00 on February 20, 2022.
Gifts in memory of Larry can be made online to the Larry and Marilyn Richardson Endowment for Debate Scholarships at WWU at www.wwu.edu/give, or by check payable to the WWU Foundation and mailed to WWU Foundation, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-9034 (please indicate Larry and Marilyn Richardson Scholarship on the memo line of your check).