Donor Legacies
Gift of a Lifetime William J. & Patricia J. Richards
The William J. and Patricia J. Richards Fund provides scholarship assistance to worthy students beginning or continuing their college studies in health-care related fields at Shawnee State University. The scholarship fund was awarded for the first time during in the spring of 2003.
Mr. Richards, who passed away on December 9, 2001, was born and raised in Youngstown, Ohio . He served in the United States Air Corps during World War II. Mr. Richards earned a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Ohio University and was a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking. He worked for Arthur Anderson and Co. in New York City before moving to Portsmouth with his wife and family in 1952.
Mr. Richards was very active in community affairs. He was a president of the Portsmouth Chamber of Commerce and the Portsmouth Rotary Club, Director of the Retail Merchants Association and the Portsmouth YMCA, Chairman of the United Way Campaign, Chairman for the Finance Committee at Hillview Retirement Center, and a member of the Mercy Hospital Foundation. In 1977 he was elected President of the Ohio Bankers Association.
Mr. Richards was instrumental in founding the Scioto Foundation. He received the Distinguished Citizen Award and the Boss of the Year Award from the Portsmouth Jaycees. He was an athlete and health enthusiast and an avid member of the booster club for Portsmouth High School. He was an active member of Wesley United Methodist Church where he served as chairman for the finance committee.
Patricia Richards is a native of Portsmouth, Ohio. In addition to her primary role of wife and mother, Mrs. Richards has been generous to the community with her time and talents.
Mrs. Richards has been an active member of Cornerstone United Methodist Church and its predecessors, Trinity and Wesley, for over fifty years. She has served many terms as trustee of all three organizations and has been on the parish staff committee and St. Anne. In addition to her work with her church, Mrs. Richards was Membership co-chairman for the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center and was a trustee of the Ohio River Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross. She has been a supporter of Shawnee State University, Southern Oho Medical Center, the Scioto County Area Foundation, Ohio University, the Portsmouth Mural Committee, Southern Ohio Community Concert, United Way and many other local organizations.
Her primary interest, after her family, has been education. She received a degree in education from Ohio University. Mrs. Richards was a trustee of Shawnee State University and a member of the Development Foundation for eleven years. Today, she continues that dedication to education by the creation of this scholarship by providing others with the opportunity for advancement through learning.
Mr. & Mrs. Richards (the former Patricia Dever) were married fifty-five years and they were the parents of three daughters and grandparents to seven grandchildren.