Richard Havens Memorial

Richard HavensRichard Havens was born March 19, 1940 in Moscow, ID to W. Jay and Inez Havens. He passed away December 15, 2014. In addition to his parents, Richard always said that his grandparents and aunts and uncles on both sides of his family played a major role in his life growing up, and meant the world to him. Because both of his parents grew up in the same town, the family was close knit. He attended schools from elementary through high school in Moscow, then University of Idaho for his undergraduate and post graduate degrees.

Following graduation, he began his teaching career, instructing Biology in Emmet, ID where he taught for four years. He then moved to Oregon where he taught at Clackamas High School for two years and Canby Middle School for ten years.

In 1970 he married Elise Mitsch. They purchased a farm east of Hubbard where they raised their two children. They had a retail bulb business in which they raised and developed new daffodils.

Richard was taught to work hard and be persistent until a task is completed—an attribute he worked hard to pass on to his children—not that they always enjoyed it when they were being taught! These same principles are being passed on to his grandchildren.

He enjoyed being with and doing things with his grandchildren: taking them on tractor rides, talking to them about bugs, animals, plants, or anything science-related, watching them hunt for Easter eggs, going to Hawaii to meet Kevin and Juliet for the first time, watching all his grandkids play together on the playground at Bauman Farms when Ken and Sanae came to visit last year, and watching them all play on the floor in the living room together just to name a few.

He was a very quiet man in public settings, but his life was exemplary of the Christian principles in which he believed.

Richard was preceded in death by his parents and infant sister. He is survived by his wife Elise of nearly 45 years, two children: Christine Birch (Rodney) of Newberg, OR and Kenneth Havens (Sanae) of Naka, Japan and five grandchildren: Robert, Christopher and Elizabeth Birch of Newberg and Kevin and Juliette Havens of Naka, Japan.

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