Neil Richardson, age 80, of Sac City, Iowa, passed away on Saturday, March 18, 2006, at Mercy Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.

Memorial services will be held at 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 22nd, at the United Methodist Church in Sac City. Burial will be at the Oakland Cemetery under the direction of the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home.

Visitation for family and friends is from 5:00-7:00 pm on Tuesday, at the Farber & Otteman Funeral Home in Sac City.

Neil was born on May 15, 1925, in Delaware Township, Sac County, Iowa, the son of Frank and Irene (Hoech) Richardson. He was baptized and confirmed at the United Methodist Church in Sac City where he remained a life-time member. Neil attended Douglas Township Country School and graduated from Sac City Community High School in 1942. He was very proud to have received the FFA Iowa Farmer Award in high school. In 1945 he enlisted in the United States Army, serving during World War II in the U.S. Army Ground Force, earning the rank of Corporal. He was honorably discharged in 1947.

On August 20, 1948, Neil was united in marriage to Rosemary Farber at the United Methodist Church in Sac City. This union was blessed with two children, Mary and Frank.

Neil celebrated life by enjoying the outdoors, fishing, traveling, and gardening. A strong believer in taking care of the environment, he was a member of Trees Forever and served on the Sac County Landfill Board. He loved farming, tending his crops, and raising livestock. Neil’s life was the farm but his love was his family. Having his children and grandchildren around was always the highlight of his day. They will remember and cherish their annual fish fry on the Fourth of July, his fishing trips with his buddies and the fish stories, how he enjoyed distributing the bounty from his garden, his need to feed and provide the birds in his yard heated water in winter, and his love for reading western novels.

Left behind to cherish his memory is his wife, Rosemary; daughter, Mary Lyman and husband Pat of Cedar Falls, IA; and son, Frank Richardson and wife Katherine of Louisville, CO. Other survivors include his four grandchildren: Katherine Lyman, Susan, Karen, and Sydney Richardson; and his sister, Audrey Marple and husband Clyde of Sac City, extended family members; and a host of friends.

Neil was preceded in death by his parents, Frank and Irene Richardson.