Richard E. Hubbard, 75
Richard E. Hubbard, 75
Richard E. Hubbard, 75, of Rathdrum, Idaho, went to meet Jesus on Dec. 7, 2016, from complications from the cancer he battled for several years. Richard was born on March 21, 1941, in Scottsbluff, Neb., to Emory and Cyrena Hubbard. He grew up on a farm with his sister, Betty, and brother Kenneth.
At the age of 14, Richard contracted polio, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. He spent several years of rehab to learn to walk with crutches. He lived with his parents in Nebraska until he decided to attend college at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo.
He received several degrees in microbiology and agriculture, then taught classes. He then moved to Omaha, Neb., to work for Armor, developing vaccines for animals. When his parents passed away, he moved to Arvada, Colo., to be closer to his sister and then learned to be a watchmaker with his brother-in-law, Dean. In 1977, they all moved to Spirit Lake, Idaho. Richard continued doing watchmaking with Dean, and was a dispatcher for the Spirit Lake Police Department.
He was active in the local Lions Club, and enjoyed playing music on his banjo with other locals. When Dean and Betty moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, due to Betty’s failing health, Richard moved to Prairie Schooner Estates in Rathdrum, where he resided until he passed away.
Before Richard retired, he worked at North Idaho College as a computer tech and worked in the testing center, where people tested for their licenses, after finishing programs at the college.
Not only did Richard love playing music, but loved fishing, hunting, black powder guns, planes, trains, and loved everything about the outdoors. He loved building things with his hands, such as remote control airplanes, guns, miniature cannons, his own mini railroad, and even took up some oil painting. Richard was a very creative and intelligent man. His nieces and nephews loved listening to his stories.
Richard was preceded in death by his parents, sister and brother. He is survived by his brother-in-law, Dean; and numerous nieces and nephews in Idaho and Nebraska.
A celebration of life will be held sometime in March around his birthday. If you have any questions, you can call Richard’s niece, Sandy Peterson, at (208) 661-8237, or write to P.O. Box 633, Spirit Lake, ID 83869.