Resident of Santa Cruz

Richard L. Svee passed away peacefully on July 5, 2024. Richard was born May 31, 1940, in Alexandria, Minnesota. When he was four years old, his family moved to St. Cloud, Minnesota where he attended grade school at St. Cloud Junior High School and finally graduated from St. Cloud High School in 1958.

It would be difficult to place Richard in a specific category since he was an amalgam of parts. To some, he was the boy skipping school or hanging out in the railroad yards. To others, Richard was restless and needed an anchor. SOME thought....by those in authority, that the Marine Corps might be the perfect place for Richard to acquire the discipline he needed. He had no opinion on the matter.

After four years in the Marine Corps, Richard was “Honorably Discharged.” What Richard DID learn after his discharge was that no one would ever again have that tight a grip on him. According to Richard, this was the first life lesson learned.

Richard stayed in California after his discharge.

Life was going along fine for a couple of years when fate again stepped in. Richard was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle. He was as close to dying as anyone. The doctors thought he would suffer some paralysis, but two months later, he was discharged in a body cast. Three more months in a neck brace make Richard promise himself and God that he would never take life for granted again. He had learned his second lesson.

He graduated from California State University at Long Beach in 1967 but continued to pursue graduate study at different universities in California. When Richard tired of academic life, he found a challenge in buying and remodeling older homes.

In his wandering and fixing up old houses, he met the love of his life, Beth, a librarian by profession. Richard found out that Beth knew where to find all the answers to his remodeling problems...in the library. Who knew that all the answers could be found in the library? In between fixing up old houses, Richard and his wife Beth traveled the world. They traveled by freighters, student ships, planes, trains, and cars to 100 countries and six continents.

Dick and Beth loved and laughed through life until they could laugh no more and then could only smile, and they smiled a lot.

Life has been good to Richard and Beth. They cherish their family and friends.

Richard’s biggest joy was his wife and constant companion whose love will never leave him.

A Memorial Service will be held on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 at 10am at Benito &Azzaro Pacific Gardens Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Porter Memorial Library, 3050 Porter St, Soquel, CA 95073.