Steven Lowell Richards went home to be with the Lord January 7, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. He was born to Ruth and Jack Richards in Rockland Idaho on July 8, 1946. The family lived and worked on a grain farm just outside of American Falls. It was on this farm that he developed a keen mechanical sense and eventually became Mr. Fix-it. He learned to drive a tractor at eight years old and soon he could do every job on the farm.

     After fixing everything on the farm, Steve made a life for himself as an engineer. He graduated with a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Idaho and settled into a position at Intermountain Gas in Boise. There he met his future wife, Glenda, and they married shortly after their first date. Forty six years later, they continued to stroll their neighborhood hand in hand.

         The happy couple traveled around the country to wherever Steve’s skills were needed. He worked in management at an ARCO oil refinery in Southern California where they had a child, Erin. Steve fixed ouchies for her injured dollies as well as built a Barbie dream house. He even built her kindergarten class a puppet theater and a maze of tunnels lit with glow in the dark stars for their astronomy unit. Then they moved to Louisiana where Steve worked in management at another refinery.

Once the refinery was fixed, Steve worked at Utah Power until his retirement in 2016.  While his professional accomplishments were many, Steve would like to be remembered most for his personal life. He had a deep and abiding faith in the Lord which carried him through difficult times. His family was the reason he woke up in the morning and he cared for them every day. Steve was the first to volunteer for the jobs no else wanted with no expectation of praise or recognition. He was the handiest man his family ever knew, often referred to as “handier than a pocket on a shirt.” He was the only one who could get his 1950 Power Wagon running and he loved to work on it. Only when he was finished with his work and helping  the neighbors too, Steve would settle down to watch his favorite tv program, The Great British Baking Show. He loved to judge each baker made, even though the only dessert he made consisted of dipping Oreos in milk.

     Steve is survived by his wife Glenda, his daughter Erin, his sisters Judy and Charlotte, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his brother Tom and his parents, Jack and Ruth. He will be dearly missed by his family, but they take comfort knowing that he will reunited with the Lord. The family would also like to thank the Huntsman Cancer Institute, especially the hospice team, for their compassion and comforting care.