Robert Hugo Richardson

1937 - 2021

ROBERT HUGO RICHARDSON West Linn, Ore. Robert Hugo Richardson, born March 12, 1937, died surrounded by his family on Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021, in West Linn, Ore. Robert was a beloved husband to Anne Richardson, cherished father to Sarah Richardson (David Barker), Rachel Richardson (Michael Deppe), Christopher Richardson (Laura Sacco), Dawn Radtke, Tyler Radtke (Larry Fox) and grandfather to Meg, Will, Charlotte, Louisa, Sophia, Isabella and Spencer. He is survived by his former wife, Margaret E. Richardson; and his brother, David Richardson (Eliza Linley). Robert was preceded in death by his parents, Clarence and Louise Richardson. Robert was born in Evanston, Ill., and grew up in Iowa, North Dakota and Minnesota, moving frequently with his family because his father was a Methodist minister. He developed an early love of opera and all music as a child while listening to the Metropolitan Opera on the radio and recovering from rheumatic fever. He loved Bach and Mozart, but also enjoyed Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash, among others. As the son of preachers and teachers, he continued the family tradition of service to others by becoming a physician. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.A. in psychology and an M.D. with specialties in internal medicine and critical care. He pursued master's level classes in ethics at the University of Pittsburgh and passed the palliative care boards late in his career. Robert served in the U.S. Air Force as a critical care physician in Tachikawa, Japan. He disagreed with the Vietnam War, but he was proud to have served his country, treating wounded soldiers from Vietnam and teaching Japanese medical interns. He and his family developed a lifelong love of Japan. Robert trained in fiberoptic bronchoscopy at the National Cancer Center in Japan and returned to lecture there later in life. When Robert returned to the U.S, he brought his fiberoptic bronchoscopy and critical care skills to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics (UIHC) where he helped set up the MICU. He served on a national panel which established detailed standards for CPR. He moved from the UIHC to Kaiser Permanente Sunnyside in Clackamas, OR where he led the ICU and developed the palliative care department. With his knowledge of ethics he worked on the protocols for Oregon's Death with Dignity Act. He moved to Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) at the end of his medical career where he focused on palliative care. Robert loved taking care of people and hearing their stories. He believed in providing health care to everyone as an early provider at the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic in the 1970s. His move to Kaiser-Permanente's HMO system helped him realize his goal of providing healthcare more broadly and fairly to people. A talented and committed runner, he ran 19 marathons during his life -- from Iowa to Boston to Paris to Portland. He loved the Zen of running. Robert enjoyed politics and history. He was especially interested in the Civil War, WWI, and WWII. He was a man who took life seriously in every way and worked for a better world. He taught his children the importance of kindness, decency, justice, and truth. His intelligence, gentleness, humility, vulnerability, and sense of humor are defining traits to which his family aspires. There will be no public memorial service. Memorials may be directed to the OHSU Center for Ethics in Health Care or the Iowa City Free Medical Clinic.