VAA Board Member, Dean Richardson (1943-2008)
Vintage Aircraft Association Director Dean Richardson of Stoughton, Wisconsin, died Sunday at the age of 64. He would have been 65 on Tuesday.
Richardson, who also served EAA members as the chairman of Vintage Aircraft Classic Judging and was the VAA’s representative on the EAA Judging Standards committee, enjoyed flying and working on a wide variety of aircraft, most of which were award-winning airplanes. From a highly polished Luscombe to a never restored, beautifully preserved Cessna 170, Dean enjoyed bringing the best out of each particular type of airplane he owned. His restored, award-winning airplane projects included a Cessna LC-126, Cessna T-41, Polish Wilga, and a Piper Super Cub.
His most recent award-winning efforts were concentrated on a Cessna 180, N2151F, for which the aircraft won the 2005 Grand Champion-Contemporary Lindy. His keen eye for detail and willingness to persevere as he worked towards creating a jewel of an airplane was simply an extension of his highly organized personality.
Dean and his talented wife Wendie were married for 43 years, sharing travel adventures and their friends from a wide variety of interests.
Dean’s professional career spanned 47 years at Research Products Corporation (you know them best as the makers of the Aprilaire series of home heating and cooling system products) in Madison, Wisconsin, serving as their vice-president of manufacturing for nearly 20 years. A student of management techniques all this life, Dean served as a mentor to both fellow employees and to those who sought his guidance thanks to his volunteer activities with both the VAA and service organizations including Big Brothers of America, the American Cancer Society and the Rotary Club in the local Madison area.
Always willing to help a restorer more clearly understand the nuances of aircraft judging, Dean served as a volunteer judge in the 1980s, and was appointed to the VAA board as an advisor in 1990. He was elected director in 1994. His organizational skills were shared with his fellow VAA judges each year, and he did his best to be a fair and impartial volunteer judge. He also served as the chairman of the VAA past Grand Champion reunion for eight years. Dean’s sharp business acumen and attention to detail, as well as his charming personality, will be missed by his many friends both in and out of aviation. Our condolences to his wife, Wendie, and their children, Stewart and Erin, Dean’s sister Nancy, his 95-year-old mother, Frances, as well as to Dean’s many friends.