Phil Richardson, age 86, Athens, died Tuesday morning, Dec. 17, 2019 at his home. He was born in 1933 in Hillsboro, Ohio to Robert John and Gladys Bean Richardson. Robert was a manager for the A&P stores so the family moved many times. Phil lived in Wilmington, Ohio, Manchester, Ohio, Milford, Ohio and Lynchburg, Ohio. But his main home was Hillsboro.

Phil graduated from Wilmington High School in 1951, attended Wilmington College for two years and then joined the Navy for 4 years. He went to school for radar/electronics and became a Fire Control Technician. He served aboard the USS Turnkey and USS Nespelen.

During his time in the Navy he traveled all over the world including Antarctica, New Zealand, the Mediterranean, and the South Atlantic.  His ship was crushed in the ice during Admiral Byrd's last Antarctic trip and the ship almost sank.

Phil received a BA and MA in German from Ohio University and then was hired as a full-time German instructor there. He then became Director of the Language Laboratory and served in that post for over thirty years.  In addition, he taught the Methods of Teaching Foreign Languages and Media in Foreign Languages.

Phil was instrumental in founding the Ohio University Language Fair and the Ohio University Language Camp and directed those activities for over ten years. Upon retirement the OU Board of Trustees voted to have the Language Resource Center in Gordy Hall be named after him.

After retirement, Phil began writing fiction and published over 90 short stories in journals and anthologies. His work was published in the US, England, India, and the Czech Republic. They were collected in two books of his, Little Bits of Out There and Little Bits of Darkness.

Phil was married to Joyce for sixty years and, as he wrote, every year was a celebration.

Phil is survived by his wife Joyce, his two sons Mark and Drew, his sister Jo Conard, and numerous nieces and nephews.  He was preceded in death by his brother Bob Richardson, his sister Bonnie Dolphin and his pet companion Maisha.

A memorial service will be held in the Spring of 2020. Arrangements are with Jagers & Sons Funeral Home, Athens. Please share a memory, a note of condolence or sign the online register book at www.jagersfuneralhome.com.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Athens County Public Library, where Phil read more books in a week than most people read all year. The mailing address is Athens County Public Libraries, Attn: Nick Tepe, 95 W. Washington St., Nelsonville, OH 45764.