Kasson, Richard Allen 66 June 03, 1945 July 10, 2011 Richard, 66, recently retired attorney and previous mental health counselor, died in his sleep in Tigard of natural causes. Born in Flint, Mich., he graduated from Flushing High School in 1963 and attended the University of Michigan before joining the military to serve in Vietnam as a U.S. Army Intelligence Officer. A book he frequently talked about writing-reliving his military experiences-was to be titled, "Out of Step." He later graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1972 with a degree in psychology and journeyed to Portland, where he attended Lewis & Clark College and received a master's degree in counseling. He met and married Susan Hill in 1976, and their daughter, Hillary, was born in 1979. Richard worked in several counseling capacities at Woodland Park Hospital and Portland State University, later spending several years working as a Multnomah County Involuntary Commitment Investigator. He spent three years in Pendleton, Ore., as part of the Umatilla County Mental Health Group Treatment Program. After that, he became a legal assistant in Pendleton for two years and returned to Portland in 1984, where he attended Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark and graduated in 1988. He worked as a full-time legal assistant while attending law school at night. He showed his ability to multitask on less-than-normal amounts of sleep while still having a life with family and friends. After having offices in Beaverton, Tigard and Lake Oswego, he retired from his longtime plaintiff's law prac-tice in December 2010. In both professions, Richard was able to fight for his clients, building their confidence by using humor and wit-when appropriate-combined with good common sense advice. Those clients always knew he would return any and all calls, listening and immediately giving reassuring words. He listened, and he understood. Immediate family members left behind are his wife and best friend, Susan Hill Kasson of Tigard; great "kid," Hillary Fargo of Cannon Beach; brother-in-law, Tim Hill and his family of Astoria; and various Kassons in Florida, Texas and Michigan. An informal gathering of friends, family and colleagues will be at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011, at Hillary and her husband, Jason's, Waves of Grain Bakery, 3116 S. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach, OR 97110 (two miles south of downtown Cannon Beach in the Tolovana Park area), www.wavesofgrainbakery.com, 503-436-9600. A bonfire on the beach will follow, weather permitting. If not able to attend, please give a cheer for any sports team, but particularly for the Trail Blazers, Mariners or any Michigan team, and/or read a good book in bed on his behalf.