Ivan Francis Richardson

Sioux City - Ivan F. Richardson, 89, a longtime Sioux City barber, passed away Saturday, May 24, 2014, after a brief stay at a local care facility.
Services will be 10:30 a.m. Monday at St. Michael’s Catholic Church in Sioux City. The Rev. Donald Ries will officiate. Burial will be in Calvary Cemetery. Visitation will be 4 to 8 p.m. today, with a Third Degree Knights of Columbus Epiphany Council 743 rosary at 4:30 p.m. and a parish vigil service at 6:30 p.m., at Larkin Chapel, Christy-Smith Funeral Home.
Ivan was born on Oct. 7, 1924, in Estherville, Iowa, the son of Clarence and Rose (Wilson) Richardson. Raised on farms near Graettinger, Iowa, he attended country schools. Initially deferred from active military service in World War II to continue farm work, Ivan joined the U.S. Army in 1946 and served with the Occupational Forces in Japan at the conclusion of the war. Upon discharge from the service, he moved to Sioux City, where he attended and graduated from the Sioux City Barber College.
On Dec. 31, 1947, he married Elaine L. Clemenson at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Sioux City. The couple moved to Le Mars, Iowa, where he began his career in barbering in a local shop. There, he also launched what would become his secondary career by converting the couple’s home into a duplex.
After the birth of their first daughter, Ivan and Elaine moved in 1952 to Sioux City, where he first opened and operated Richardson Barber Shop on Pierce Street in the downtown area and later the Plaza Barbers for more than 40 years. During this period, Ivan obtained a real estate broker license and began operating Richardson Properties, providing homes for many Siouxland families.
After Ivan retired in 1989, he and Elaine spent several months each winter for 15 years near Pawleys Island, S.C., where their youngest daughter and her family lives. Ivan enjoyed hunting, fishing, following the stock market and playing bridge. An enthusiastic Hawkeye fan, he also was keen on watching sports. What he loved most was spending time with his family and playing bridge with his friends.
Ivan lived by the motto, "If you are going to do something, do it right or do not do it at all." He worked hard at anything he undertook, paid attention to detail, led by example and enjoyed a sense of accomplishment and pride in what he did. The rigors and hardships of growing-up during the Great Depression and a war had lifelong influences on him. Early thoughts of attending medical school to become a surgeon were dashed by the need to leave school to work before finishing high school but lingered in the premium he placed on education and the insistence that his children would earn a college degree. The day-to-day uncertainties of his youth underpinned the value he gave to basics such as working hard and, as he preached, being "good to your body, it’s the only one you have."
He and Elaine diligently shared in a successful effort to instill in their children a strong sense of self-worth, confidence and independence to meet whatever challenges they faced in their lives and to provide them a stable, loving environment. Importantly, he was compassionate to others especially those less fortunate regardless of their circumstances. He was a social man who tried to make everyone he met at ease. In that his quick wit served him well and stayed with him to his last days as the care givers he teased can attest to. His wit and his strength and example as a husband, father and grandparent will be missed.
Ivan belonged to Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church and currently was a member of St. Michael’s Catholic Church. Having joined at age 17, Ivan was the longest living member of the Third Degree Knights of Columbus, Epiphany Council 743. He also belonged to the Sioux City Barbers Union and the American Legion Monahan Post.
He is survived by his devoted wife of 66 years, Elaine; four children, Constance (MacDonald) Smith of Sioux City, Dr. John (Shelley) Richardson of Winneconni, Wis., Ann (Honorable John) Colborn of Lincoln, Neb., and Mary (Jon) Tester of Pawleys Island, S.C.; 13 grandchildren, Jay (Alissa) Smith, Adam Smith, John (Kari) Richardson, Andrea (Erik) Uppling, Nicholas Richardson, Ryan (Karen) Schaefer, Andrea Schaefer, Lindsay (Pat) Crawford, Jennifer Colborn, Jonathan Tester, Benjamin Tester, Daniel Tester, and Jacob Tester; 13 great grandchildren; as well as several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Merle; and a sister, Maxine Simonsen.
Memorials in his honor may be directed to the Carmelite Nuns or Care Initiatives Hospice of Sioux City.