Obituary of Richard George Laugharn

Richard George (“Dick”) Laugharn Richard George (“Dick”) Laugharn passed away on January 23, 2012, at age 86, after a long illness. He was born in Long Beach, California, on July 1, 1925. His father, Harry, was the mayor of Compton, California in the 1950s, and was very active in Los Angeles County politics. His mother, Content Anderson Laugharn, had grown up Texas and the Arizona territory and was an early graduate of the Arizona Normal School, now Arizona State University. Dick graduated from the University of Redlands in 1947, and studied for his masters in English at Columbia in the early 1950s. He married Dorothy Burton on December 13, 1957. He was an editor who worked with Doubleday and Prentice-Hall publishing companies. He loved words, writing, and everything to do with books. He served on the advisory board for the Los Angeles metropolitan area libraries cooperative. He was also a very skilled photographer. Dick was a devoted husband and father. He spent all of his free time with his wife and sons, taking them to museums, concerts, libraries, universities, backpacking every summer, traveling to every corner of California. Dick had a memorably wry take on the world. His frequently droll observations and his lifelong pleasure in language and storytelling were a source of delight to those who knew him, as was his ironic, playful outlook. His lifelong love of learning, his ethical instincts, his questioning spirit and his deeply humane point of view were an inspiration to his own sons and, through them, a positive influence on his grandchildren. He was a man of humor and colorful quotes, many of which have been passed to our own children (King Lear's "How sharper than a serpent's tooth is an ungrateful child" is an occasional gentle reproof in our households). Dick is survived by his wife of fifty-four years, Dorothy, by their sons Dorothy, by their sons Richard (Phoenix, Arizona) and his wife Deb, and Peter (Santa Cruz, California) and his wife Marie, and by a third son, Paul (Bellingham, Washington), from a previous marriage, as well as by seven grandchildren, Marc, Hannah, Lily, Catherine, Hayden, Jonah, and Jaya. Though we have lost the man who taught us so much about how to love the world, the strength he has lent us by his example continues to light our way forward. He was a kind soul, and we will miss him. If you would like to make a gift in Dick’s memory, we encourage you to make a donation in his name to your local public library. Please leave memories of Dick or condolences for the family in the Guestbook below.