Richard Merlin Riedman

1933 - 2019

Richard Merlin Riedman

September 4, 1933 - January 21, 2019

Richard, "Dick," was born and raised in Long Beach, California, to Fred Merlin Riedman and Veda Evalou Thompson. His father's family had migrated from North Dakota in 1916, and brought a love of farming and ranching with them. Dick inherited a lifelong love of horses and rode in the Rose Parade with the Long Beach Mounted Police for many years.

Dick graduated from Poly High in Long Beach, and then followed in his father's and brother's footsteps to attend the University of Redlands, majoring in speech pathology and graduating with his Masters degree in 1956. He served 2 years in the Army before continuing his education at the University of Pittsburgh, receiving his Ph.D. in Audiology in 1962. He was immediately hired by San Diego State University and helped establish a new major in Audiology. He retired as a full professor from SDSU in 1992 after teaching there for 30 years.

Dick was married to Ann Carson for 18 years and had two sons, Richard and Tom. He later married Kathi Hoffer and they backpacked the Sierras and Cascades, cycled through Europe and Great Britain, traveled to New Zealand, Australia, China and Iceland, and rode horses wherever they could. With their two daughters, Laura and Suzy, they moved to Eugene after Dick's retirement. Kathi had been hired by the Child Development and Research Center, OHSU, and the Communications Disorders department at the University of Oregon. Dick enjoyed his retirement working with horses and kids, planting trees, traveling, and helping in extended family business pursuits. He also served on medical teams traveling to Mexico and South America.

Dick was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2009 but didn't slow down until 2017. He continued to ride horses regularly, clear paths in the woods, make walking sticks, play ping pong with Blazing Paddles, share his stories, and teach us how to live?.and how to die. He handled his illness with grace and fortitude. Dick had a gentle spirit, a quiet sense of humor, a strong moral compass, a fierce devotion to family, and was a true horse whisperer. He was a man of integrity and treated all beings with great respect and compassion.

Dick leaves his wife of 39 years, Kathi; sons, Rich (Tami) and Tom(Alicia); daughters, Laura and Suzy (Chris Zurbrugg); grandchildren, Tamal, Harmony, Skye, Jessica, Rick and soon-to-be grandson, Bo; great granddaughters, Elia and Valerie. A celebration of his amazing life will be held in June. Donations may be made to the Wesley Foundation, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, or OHSU Parkinson's Center.