Obituary for General Thomas C. Richards

"Dear Meredyth, did your husband ever live in Florence, Oregon? If he did, I am related to his best friend, Willy. I heard that Thomas wrote a book named the Sandpiper. Did it ever get published? Looking forward to your response.
Hugs and smiles,
Sharon (Scharen) Teyler
teylers@aol.com"

"General Tom Richards was our real life Steve Canyon. He and his bride were a "Class Act". General Richards was a true hero for all the people he met and certainly one of mine. General (R) J. B. Davis USAF"

"Meredyth and Family: I want to add our condolences to you and family on your loss with the passing of Gen Richards. My association with you both spanned our 4 yrs on staff at the USAFA when I served as DCS MWR and was active with Denny Weddle in Protocol...and enjoyed his thoughts and recommendations on the OOM and many other morale programs. I frequently tried to find time to stop by the Club in mornings and share a cup of coffee with you as you had breakfast. Later when I had frequent trips to Keesler AFB, I could always count on an office visit and a cup of coffee. He sure cleaned up that situation there! Later, I headed up the DOD Comptroller Course at Maxwell AFB when General Richsrds was AU/CC. The General was a consummate leader, motivator, and real Americsn success story going from leaving HS and moving up to 4-star rank with so many wartime and key roles....but he had a superb "wingman" at his side for 50 years. In reading his obituary I learned the he was a Hampton HS "crabber" like our two children! Carol and I send our thoughts and prayers to you during this time of loss. Warmest regards, Chuck & Carol Martin"

"Meredyth - I was saddened to hear of the General’s passing. What a great role model and inspiration. I had the privilege of serving as a cadet squadron commander and cadet group commander with General Richards as my group AOC. We spent considerable time together talking about leadership and the challenges of command. We also had the opportunity to work on some issues when he was the Commandant and I was on the law faculty at the Academy. He is one of the top two leaders I served with in the Air Force. A one of a kind gentleman and true inspiration. He will be missed. You have my sincere sympathy."

"My deepest condolences. He is at the center of many of my USAFA cadet memories. Years later I am only partially understanding what an incredible human being, Air Force officer, hero, and family man he was. Thank you, Gen Richards, for being a shining star and example for us."

"Meredyth, our sincere condolences in Tom's passing recently. He was a true gentleman, classmate and teammate on the football field. I will remember him fondly.
Roger W. Simmons, Class of '56"