Thomas Allen Richards

It is with love and sadness that the family of Thomas Allen Richards, 77,  of Chester Springs and Shohola, PA, announces his passing on Saturday, January 11, 2020 after a long illness. Tom will be lovingly remembered by his wife and friend of 24 years, Diana Connell Richards (née Pacylowsky), R. Perry Connell (Kelly) and their children, Diana Connell Giampietro (Clifford) and their children, Patrick Connell (Amira), dear cousins, friends and his beloved Labrador, Parker.
Tom was born on Staten Island, NY to the late Herbert W. and Esther S. Richards (née Burnett). Attended Tottenville H.S. and Penn State University; was a vehicle designer for UPS; retired from Liberty Mutual Ins. after 34 yrs. as a loss prevention safety engineer and consultant.
 Tom enjoyed growing up in Tottenville, Staten Island and at their cottage in Shohola, PA where they spent all available time surrounded by wildlife, outdoor activities and where Tom learned his marksmanship skills. Tom was a life long car and motorsports enthusiast seeking out auto races at tracks of all sizes and race cars of all classes as he traveled around our country. His favorite tracks to attend were in Middletown, NY, Bridgeport, NJ and NASCAR racing at Pocono Raceway.  Tom held tickets for every NASCAR Cup race at Pocono until he became too ill. He loved driving any vehicle especially his ‘72 Chevelle convertible.
When called Tom proudly served in the U.S. Army 1st Squadron, 1st Cavalry from 
1966-68 including a tour in Vietnam his final year. Although he arrived as an armed marksman, his war experiences so affected him that he gratefully returned home with a new camera, a love for photography and spent the rest of his life taking photos of everything that caught his eye.
Tom was quiet, reserved and fiercely independent, loved his family and friends, was a good and loyal friend, helpful to anyone who asked, charitable as his means allowed, and a lover of animals especially dogs.
 
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at SS Phillip and James Church, 107 N. Ship Road, Exton, PA 19341 on Thursday, January 16, 2020 at 11:00.  There will be visitation at the church at 10:00.  Burial will be at Milford Cemetery, Milford, PA on Friday, January 17, 2020.
In lieu of flowers kindly consider a donation to a charity of your choice, to a veterans care organization, or to Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation (tunnel2towers.org). They provide smart homes for catastrophically injured service members and veterans.