Frederick Joseph Richardson

Frederick Joseph Richardson, 86, passed away peacefully December 31, 2012.

Fred was born September 6, 1926 in Columbus, Ohio. His parents were Helen and Vernon Richardson. After living several years in the Lancaster, Ohio area, the family moved to Columbus, Ohio in 1941. Fred graduated from High School in 1944 and entered the Army in Jan. 1945. He served in the occupation of Japan and Korea--following that, he was a member of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineering Unit charged with performing remedial latitude and longitude surveys on several U.S. Islands in the South Pacific. After his discharge, he enrolled at The Ohio State University and earned a Civil Engineering degree in 1951. He was employed by the Ohio Department of Highways from 1951 to 1963. During that time, he was significantly involved in the location and design of the Urban Expressway Systems in the major cities of Ohio. In 1963, he moved to Akron and was employed by the firm of Beiswenger Hoch & Arnold. That firm was acquired by Dalton Dalton Assoc. in 1965. Fred was in charge of the firm's Transportation Group and served on the Board of Directors from 1968 until 1984. Under his direction, the firm completed the following major projects: design of the West Expressway, East Expressway, Kenmore Expressway, Akron Interbelt, U.S. 224 Expressway in Akron, The All American Bridge, Cuyahoga Falls SR 8 Expressway, I-271 in Summit County, I-90 city of Cleveland, I-77 in Stark and Tuscarawas County and many more. The firm also prepared reports for Utah and Ohio for the formulation of the Highway Departments into Departments of Transportation. Dalton was acquired by the URS Corporation in 1984. Fred served as Regional Manager and Senior Vice President until his retirement in 2007. His professional career spanned more than 56 years.

Preceded in death by his parents, Vernon and Helen; sister, Bertha; and brother, Vernon; he is survived by sons, Thomas, Robin (Pam); daughters, Nancy Bearor, Sally (Mark) French; grandchildren, Megan Moore, Eric Doust, Jason Bearor, Shaun Richardson; five stepgrandchildren; three great-grandchildren; brother, Robert (Dee) Richardson; and sister, Linda Wiggins.

Friends may call 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel, 85 N. Miller Rd., Akron. Burial will be held at 11:30 a.m., Monday at Sunset Cemetery in Columbus. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Frederick J. Richardson Civil Engineering Scholarship Fund, The Ohio State University Foundation Office of Donor Relations, 1480 West Lane Ave., Columbus, OH 43221-3938.

(Billow FAIRLAWN Chapel)