Jack Richards Endowed Scholarship

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ohn “Jack” Richards, an Ellsworth Community College math instructor for over 30 years, was born to John Franklin and Lillian Richards on May 24, 1929 in Redfield, South Dakota. He graduated from Sibley High School in 1947. He received his BA from Iowa State Teachers College in 1951, then served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1951-53. He was stationed at the USMC Recruit Depot in San Diego, Treasure Island in San Francisco, and Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California during his years of service. Upon his return, he taught at Corwith, Iowa for three years. Richards returned to the Iowa State Teachers College and received his MA in 1957. He also did further graduate work at the University of Iowa and New Mexico State University. Upon receiving his MA, Richards accepted a position at Ellsworth in 1957 where he taught Mathematics until his retirement in 1990.
He and Onalee Crosswait were united in marriage in 1952. The couple has a daughter, Jolene, who lives in West Des Moines and has six children; and two sons, Tom of Raleigh, North Carolina, who has two children; and Bill of Denver, Colorado. Onalee passed away in 1974. Richards married Rita Gross in 1983 and has a stepson, David of Fort Worth, Texas who has two children and a stepdaughter, Cindy of Iowa Falls, who has four children.
He has kept active in his retirement playing trombone with Dow Jones & the Averages, a local band, as well as woodworking and playing golf. He and Rita reside in Iowa Falls.
The late Dwain Betten of Boone, a 1961 ECC graduate and former student of Richards, provided the annual funding to honor the impact made on his education and life by Richards.