Keith Richter was the 8th child, the 5th son and the older of twin brothers born in Tacoma on September 27, 1950, to Ernest and Leila Richter who owned 15 treed acres in Federal Way. The eleven children were allowed to play and enjoy the fruit which grew on the property at will. They also shared responsibilities in the home and on the grounds of which Keith took pride in keeping the lawn around the house during the summer and felling and chopping wood, which he learned from his older brothers, year-round for the wood stove. 

They all attended Federal Way schools. Many of them also attended a nearby Southern Baptist Church where Keith was baptized when he was 13. He also attended DeMolay meetings developing his strong moral code and never-ending interest in helping others in need as a result of his participation in those two organizations. 

During his High School years, he played football, being a lineman usually on the defensive line. In the summer he was a lifeguard at nearby Steel Lake. Having received a football scholarship to Spokane Community College, he found a job tending horses morning and night which afforded him room and board. Unfortunately, before the first football season concluded, he sustained a career-ending injury to a broken wrist. Later that year he found employment as a year-round lifeguard and swim instructor at the YMCA, which he continued to do until his graduation with an AA degree in Architectural Design. Unfortunately, he could not find work using his degree immediately but got on with a local Seed Packing company. 

It was then that he met Gwen who was attending Kelsey-Baird Secretarial School at the time. They married on October 12, 1974. In 1976, they decided to move to the Tri-Cities where Keith’s parents were living in order to pursue work using his college degree. He did find a drafting job with a Hanford contractor in Richland. Gwen also found secretarial work on the Hanford Project. Subsequently, they purchased their first home on Snow Street in Richland. In time, three sons were born: Gerald in 1978, Robert in 1981, and Jason in 1983. 12 years later, a larger house on Blue Street became available. They purchased it and in time paid the mortgage off. 

Having started working with a Hanford contractor, things looked great until the nuclear industry went down. Keith then began job shopping and found work drafting/designing at jobs around the country. At first the growing family moved to California for a while, then after being in Illinois for a bit moved on to Iowa where we saw the Mississippi River (no match at all for our Columbia River) and stern wheeler river boats for the first time. In time we drove back to our home in Richland from which Keith continued to job shop in different industries starting with the pulp and paper mill at Wallula, and from there to several other locations around the state though the family remained in Richland and Keith came home weekends and between jobs. Somewhere in between there he got a job in Louisiana in the oil industry, but at the end of the contract he was home again. 

Always forward-thinking Keith procured a minicomputer when Gerald was about 8 years old. He learned how to program with it and taught the boys what he had learned. They have benefited their whole lives as a result. 

About the time we moved to the new home on Blue Street, Keith began working with the Tri City Herald as a bundle dropper in the early mornings – dropping newspapers for the carriers to deliver. He did that for several years and for a few years had management responsibility for the weekly advertising paper “The Mailbox.”

Then he began driving for the Red Cross taking a load of blood donations to Portland daily. For his last several working years he drove big rigs (18 wheelers) locally with agricultural seasonal work and eventually running loads to and from the ports. He also took many loads across the country south to California, New Mexico, and all the way to the Mexican border, many east to Idaho and Montana and some east as far as Illinois. 

Keith loved Christmas, gift shopping for family, helping decorate the tree and the home. He loved the 4th of July – the fireworks and celebrating with family. He also loved music – songs from his adolescence “Honeycomb”, “Uh Oh I’m Falling in Love Again”, songs from church “In the Garden”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Just a Closer, walk with Thee”, and “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” among his favorites. He also had a huge list of favorites that he sang at Karaoke.

Keith is survived by his wife Gwen Richland, son Gerald, daughter-in-law Lycel, grandson Abraham Kennewick, son Robert Richland, son Jason Richland, brother Kerry Kent, sister Myrna Pulmano Hawaii, twin brother Mark Vermont, sister Rita Thompson Alaska, sister Myra Richter Richland, numerous nieces and nephews.

Preceded in Death by his father Ernest F Richter, mother Leila U Westnedge Richter, brother Ray, brother Lenn, brother Jess, sister Leah Lumbert, brother Neil.

All in all, a record of a life well lived, but cut too short. 

A Celebration of Life will be held July 4th at the family residence in Richland, for more information please contact Gwen 509-528-0077 or Gerald 509-205-4200.