John "Jack" Ellsworth Richards Jr.

John “Jack” Ellsworth Richards, Jr., age 94, of Jackson, Ohio, passed away at his home on Tuesday, July 22, surrounded by family and friends, following a courageous battle with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Jack was born on April 27, 1931, in Thurman, Ohio, the first of three children of John Sr. and Joan Richards. He grew up with his sister Sherry and brother Lon on a family farm and orchard where apples, peaches and other fruits were harvested and sold. The business was operated by his father, uncles, and other relatives. He had many chores, such as milking the cows and moving the cattle in and out of the barn to the field each day before and after school. He and his siblings attended Bloomfield School, and Jack was his class Valedictorian. He attended Vega United Methodist Church and joined 4-H.

Jack attended Ohio University in Athens to study Agriculture, but joined the Army after a year, and served in the Korean Conflict. During his service overseas, he worked as a radio repairman of his unit’s communications equipment. That work sparked his interest in electronics. Upon his return to the US, he moved to Chicago and earned an associate’s degree in Electronics at DeVry Technical Institute. He moved back to Jackson County and began his 39-year career as an electronics technician at the Goodyear Atomic Plant in Piketon. Jack also started his own TV repair business and even made house calls. He occasionally helped sell apples at his family’s orchard during the busy apple season, where he enjoyed working alongside relatives and waiting on customers.

In 1959, Jack married Carol Jean Johnson, and they raised four children: Brian, Brenda, Brent, and Braden Richards. Together, the family enjoyed many adventures. Annual vacations were taken all over the country. Jack and Carol hosted many family holiday get-togethers at their home in Jackson. They were active members of Christ United Methodist Church. He also volunteered with the Boy Scouts and helped with camping trips and community projects, such as organizing the Apple Festival parking each year. Jack and Carol were members of the Wagon Wheelers Square-dancing Club for many years. Jack was “Mr. Fix-it”— he could fix anything and everything. He loved the challenge, and friends and family often called him for advice. He raised a garden every summer, from which he often shared vegetables with neighbors and friends.

Jack and Carol enjoyed 59 wonderful years of marriage together before Carol’s passing in 2018. After retirement, the two of them traveled a few places overseas, visiting Europe, the Greek Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Alaska, and other remote areas. Jack took up golf, joined a league at Franklin Valley, and spent many early mornings playing nine holes with friends. He and Carol also joined the Silver Sneakers and stayed active.

Jack loved cars and motorcycles, trading them in often to enjoy the next latest technology. However, he held onto one classic car—his 1956 Thunderbird—and he and Brian spent many hours together working on it. He and Carol went on several motorcycle trips all over the country with friends.

After Carol’s death, he met his current wife, Alice, who came by to purchase apples. They began a special friendship, both having lost their first spouses of 59 years, and the two began dating. Jack and Alice married in the fall of 2019, at the youthful ages of 88 and 89, and Alice became a big part of the family. They enjoyed hosting holiday get-togethers, attended church, joined a small-group Bible study, and exercised at Silver Sneakers. The two took a few trips together, sometimes to the Carolina beaches with Jack’s children’s families.

Jack lived a full, meaningful life, and he was blessed to have wonderful health for most of it. He loved to serve the Lord, was a dedicated family man, possessed an ambitious work ethic, served his community when and where needed, had a likeable personality, enjoyed many hobbies, and was cherished by all who knew him. He has now gone on to meet his Maker and to be reunited with beloved family and friends who left before him.

Jack is survived by his loving wife of 5+ years, Alice Dill Richards; his sister, Sherry (Don) Scarlett, brother, Lon Richards; brother-in-law, John Hagely; former sister-in-law, Carol Walsh; his grown children, Brian Richards and his partner Kristine Swick, Brent (Mary Beth) Richards, and Brenda (Alan) Freiheit; daughter-in-law, Beth (Chuck) Leach; seven grandchildren: Bailey (Seth) Lang, Brianne (Patrick) Benn, and Braden Richards, Jr., Zach, Zane, and Quinn Richards, and Sophia Freiheit; his stepson, Kevin (Marilyn) Dill; and many nieces, nephews, step-grandchildren, and cousins.

Preceding him in death are his parents, John Sr. and Joan Richards; his beloved first wife of 59 years, Carol Jean (Johnson) Richards; their son, Braden Richards; a stepson, Michael Dill; a brother-in-law, Don Scarlett, sister-in-law, Wilma Hagely, and former sister-in-law, Fay Richards.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Lewis & Gillum Funeral Home in Jackson, Ohio. Calling hours will be held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025, from 4 PM-8 PM, with the funeral service on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 1 PM. Interment will follow at Fairmount Cemetery. Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.lewisgillum.com.

The family wishes to thank all who have graciously assisted Jack during his times of need. While flowers are gratefully accepted, those who prefer may instead consider a memorial contribution to Christ Church of Jackson, 150 Portsmouth St., Jackson, OH 45640.