John Vinson Richardson died at 2:30 p.m., Friday, March 13, 2009 after an eleven year battle with Parkinson's disease. The son of Sir Herman and Bessie Humphrey Richardson, he was born in Newark, Ohio on July 24, 1918. He is survived by his wife of sixty-six years Hope S. Richardson, son John Jr. of Inglewood, CA and special niece Kim Yvonne Smith of McConnelsville, OH. As an infant, John survived the great influenza epidemic of 1918. He grew up in Morgan County, OH, and graduated from Malta & McConnelsville High School, class of 1936. He also graduated from Coyne Electrical School, Officer Candidate School, Command & General Staff College, and spent two years at The Ohio State University. He was in the first draft in Morgan County in 1941, pre-Pearl Harbor. He commanded the 364th Engineer Group at Fort Hayes, having served five years in active service and thirty-two years in the Army Reserve. He worked for thirty-four years as an engineer for the Jeffrey Mining and Machine Company. After retirement, he owned and operated DaySpring, a choose-and-cut Christmas tree plantation on the farm where he grew up. John was a member of the Alum Creek Church, where he was an elder emeritus, following his service as elder for the Indian Springs Church of Christ for more than twenty years. Graveside services will be held at 10:30 AM on Wednesday morning, March 18 at the Lemon Hill Cemetery, County Road #74, McConnelsville, Ohio. Adam Metz will officiate. There will be a luncheon at the Smith Family Farm following the graveside services. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Central Ohio Parkinson's Society, 1380 Dublin Rd., Columbus, Ohio 43215. Arrangements by Miller-Huck Funeral Home, McConnelsville, Ohio.