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Jim Richards passes


Erik Sine

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Passing of Jim Richards

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UL Jim

I just heard Jim Richards known here on this board just recently passed away. This is very sad news, he was always very helpful to folks here with questions and has educated us all. He helped me with a few unconventional projects that and I could have been more thankful for his time.

Anyone know any details? Manuel? This is just so sudden.

A bright light has been taken from our industry, but the radiance from that light left behind a mark that will never be lost or forgotten.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. - Winston Churchill

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  • !llumenati

That's a sad day for the sign industry. He always had time for questions, and always took the time to instruct on the nuances of UL. I had numerous calls with him, met him several times, and will surely be missed.

gn

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Wow.

I had called him at home several times and his wife emailed me back asking me to keep trying to talk to him.

He had gone through a very tough surgery recently and afterwards received some rather bad news. Dane Cardone of Sign Methods, Stephanie my wife, and I had lunch with Jim a few days before his surgery.

This makes me really sad - he was a mentor to me and was a great contributor to safety in the USA.

Most of you may have met Jim Richards at our ISA Party in Las Vegas - he was the one who stayed the entire time and was always wanting to teach people about safety...with a joke hear and there.

He was also part of a special group that including execs from Blair Companies, Pride Signs, and ex- Image Point guys who learned all about snakes first hand from Snake Babe.

I spent time on vacation with Jim and his wife Pat in Hawaii drinking too much and telling way too many jokes, on a cruise to Mexico educating sign companies from around the world and dancing into the early hours of the morning with a bunch of people including Dan Doxsee of Nichia, on a weekend on Catalina Island introducing sign companies to LED technology, and travelling around the world to educate people on LED safety -- his knowledge is even being used down in New Zealand to craft new standards - and I even introduced him to the California lawmakers who wrote Title 24 and he showed them how to write laws incorporating LEDs

In additional to all of his smarts he was a great father - he is actually part of the reason I am now living in New Zealand...he told me about visiting his daughter who lived in Tasmania (south of Australia) who was studying Tasmanian devils and encouraged me and paved the way for moving our company to New Zealand.

I will miss Jim a lot - he always made me laugh and learn.

Just got a call from his son-in-law - Life is so fragile and goes so fast.

Edited by Manuel Lynch
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I have spent the last hour trying to figure out what to write. I am just such at a loss that I still dont know how to respond. This industry does not have a lot of people that you look up to. Jim was a mentor and a teacher and a great person. that just sums it up and I still just dont know what else to say. Its a sad week.

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We have lost an ally to the sign industry and to public safety. My favorite Jim Richards story occurred about 15 years ago, right about when U.L. started to let us use G-Cups instead of PK or Hage Housings (both a bane to the proper installation of individual letters). We were at a reception at the NESA Regional Convention in Anaheim. Jim and I were talking shop and I thanked him and UL for finally seeing the logic and practicality of the G-Cup as an electrode housing. I then somewhat flippantly remarked that it only took UL 45 years to figure out how my grandfather did it to begin with. Jim chuckled, kind of shrugged his shoulders and conceded, "... at least we're listening".

This attitude was a breakthrough for me. For so long, UL developed policies and procedures as a result of their testing, but never bothered to ask those that dealt with secondary voltage on a daily basis what worked for them. Therefore, their regulations were impractical and unsafe under most circumstances. Today, via Jim's willingness to engage and listen, neon installations are much improved and definitely safer.

I can only hope Jim mentored someone at U.L. on how much attitude has to do with cooperation, how much expertise has to do with the industry not the engineer and how much personality has to do with success. In each of these areas, Jim was both teacher and student.

My condolences to Jim's family.

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  • Board Patron

I had the pleasure of meeting Jim at Manuel's party at Vegas. He talked to me like he had known me a long time even though we had just met. I always looked forward to his responses to questions on here, they were always helpful.

God speed Jim

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

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Pat, Jim's wife let me know today that the service will be on Friday Sept 17, 2010 @11:00am

Lima Family Santa Clara

466 North Winchester Blvd

Santa Clara, Ca. 95050

(408)296-2977

It is amazing to think back about all the great times I had with him - mostly had nothing to do with work - but more about just sharing about life. He was always made the most difficult things simple and easy to understand.

My favorite story he ever told me was about building a swing set for grandkids!

Chris Peng, one of the partners in Axiom LED, is not on this message board but was the one who developed the first UL LED Power Supply and worked with Jim extensively. He said it perhaps the best - "I had so much respect for him - he made everything so pleasant - but the stuff we were working on was not anything near pleasant."

As Skip said at Bill Moore & Associates - he was a great listener and really "heard" what your problem was... and sometimes the best advice he gave was on how to work better with people. He always made me smile and laugh when I got off the phone with him and I always thought to myself - I want to be more like Jim. Even in the most difficult times he would turn the situation into a laughing matter.

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I was able to meet or speak with Jim on a few occasions and always came away feeling like both listened, and cared, and that's not always the case in business.

My thoughts and condolences go out to his family and friends, and may he rest in peace.

Thank you, Jim.

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I just spoke with someone from UL who had worked with Jim for 28 years. They said that they hope everyone understands that UL may need a little support from its customers in understanding that it may take them a bit to have someone fill in Jim's shoes. We both agreed that Jim was the funniest and nicest man who always made everything so pleasant.

I said that I am sure that people in the sign industry that knew Jim will be very patient as UL figures out what to do in his absence.

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  • !llumenati

I just spoke with someone from UL who had worked with Jim for 28 years. They said that they hope everyone understands that UL may need a little support from its customers in understanding that it may take them a bit to have someone fill in Jim's shoes. We both agreed that Jim was the funniest and nicest man who always made everything so pleasant.

I said that I am sure that people in the sign industry that knew Jim will be very patient as UL figures out what to do in his absence.

Well, that could take a good amount of time to try and find someone who could even remotely come close to replacing Jim. Good luck --

...but, of course, we'll be patient. Aren't we always? I mean, personally, "patience" is almost my middle name.

gn

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Had an interesting conversation when I talked to people at UL with some neon inquiries. It seems no Memo has been put out about the passing of Jim Richards. They we're all shocked. I found this VERY, odd.

You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. - Winston Churchill

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  • Board Patron

Had an interesting conversation when I talked to people at UL with some neon inquiries. It seems no Memo has been put out about the passing of Jim Richards. They we're all shocked. I found this VERY, odd.

That is very strange... has anyone heard exactly what happened to Jim?

Installation & Maintenance Services

Brian Phillips | expresssignandneon@sbcglobal.net | P. 812-882-3278

Express Sign & Neon | 119 S. 15th Street - Vincennes - IN 47591

express%20neon%20sig.jpg

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I communicated with one of the young engineers that worked with Jim the other day and both he and the other engineer are in shock. Both of them will step in and answer people's questions. Both good guys.

Jim had a surgery in June to remove a bunch of pollops. In the process they found out he had some additional cancer. He started chemo and was becoming rather weak. He collapsed one day and they found that he had cancer of the brain as well. He was recovering from his collapse in the hospital and came down with pnuemonia. He passed in the hospital.

He always had the best humor about what was wrong with him and took the most serious issues very lightly. Stephanie, Dane Cardone (Sign Methods), and I had lunch with Jim just before his surgery. At the end of lunch I told him I would call him at home after his surgery and see how he was doing. He emailed me a week later and told me the surgery went well but the prognosis was not great and that he was starting chemo.

JIm was a close friend of mine and we shared a lot of great time together talking, learning, and laughing.

Here is his obituary below

Mercury News

On Saturday, September 4th James entered into eternal peace. He was 63 years old. James was survived by his Wife Pat, Mother, Sister, five Children and ten Grandchildren. Memorial will be held on Friday, September 17th at 11:00am Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary 466 North Winchester Boulevard, Santa Clara, CA 95050 408-296-2977.Donations can be made in memory of Jim to The Cancer Society of America.

Edited by Manuel Lynch
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