Obituary of Austin Harper Richardson

Austin Harper Richardson was born May 13, 1928 in Forrest City, Iowa to Drs. Doyle Richardson and Lois Irwin Richardson. He grew up in Austin, Minnesota, attending Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota and the University of Minnesota in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 1949 Austin Harper married Jean Dalgety. He studied to become a Methodist minister at Duke University in North Carolina and Garrett Seminary at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. During his graduate studies Austin Harper preached in several communities, including St. Charles, Minnesota and Livingston, Wisconsin. After seminary Austin Harper’s first pastoral assignment was at Hathaway Methodist Church in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1958 Austin Harper and family moved to the Pacific Northwest where he ministered to Methodist congregations in Yakima, Washington, and several communities in Oregon, including Coos Bay, Portland, Eugene and Laurelwood. While he was pastor of Centenary-Wilbur Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon from 1965 to 1980, the church became a hub for innovation and social change in the service of Christian ethics. Austin Harper became widely recognized for his efforts to build a more just and peaceful society. In 1979 Austin Harper married Dr. Yowko Ichioka, a professor of linguistics and Asian Studies who taught at New York University in New York and Willamette University in Salem. In 1988 Austin Harper and Yowko retired in Beaver Creek, Oregon. He passed away at home on January 2, 2012. Austin Harper is survived by his wife, Yowko; his children in Portland – Susan, John Harper, Anne Elizabeth, Gillian and Thomas Austin; three children living out of state - Dr. Mary Richardson, of Los Angeles, California; Sarah Richardson, of Leesburg, Virginia; and Dr. Katherine Bruna, of Ames, Iowa; his brother Robert, of Rochester, Minnesota, and his sister Margaret, of Iowa City, Iowa. There will be a memorial gathering on Saturday, January 7 at 2 PM. For more information please call 646 261-3895.