Obituary

James (Jim) Patrick Richards passed away on August 17, 2015 at his home in Buckeye, Arizona.  He was born March 30, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois as the first born child to Herbert and Brigid Richards and moved to Tempe, Arizona in 1989.  Jim attended Arizona State University and graduated in 1992 with a degree in Broadcasting and Political Science.  As a freelance writer, he reported and wrote articles for many high school, junior college, university and professional sports events covered locally by the Tribune Newspapers and AccessArizona.com.  He was a Los Angeles Bureau beat writer covering the Anaheim Angels Spring Training camp in Tempe for 17+ years as well as a freelance writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Dallas Morning News, Chicago Tribune and the Tucson Daily Star.  In addition to umpiring softball games for the City of Tempe Recreation Department, Jim was a professional score keeper for Minor League Baseball, Arizona League, for 17 years covering the Mariners, Padres, Diamondbacks, Dodgers and most recently, his beloved Chicago White Sox teams.  Music was Jim’s second passion.  He was an accomplished self-taught keytar player who spent many hours at music jam sessions honing his musical skills and guiding the blossoming local band, Lennon & McJagger.  A Beatles trivia aficionado, he created and managed a widely successful on-site chat room dedicated to the study of their talents and impact of their music.  Jim is preceded in death by his mother, Brigid, and is survived by his father, Herbert, younger brother Michael and younger sister Noreen, all from Chicago, Illinois. A funeral service will be held at 4:30pm on Wednesday August 26^th at Thompson Funeral Chapel, 926 S. Litchfield Rd., Goodyear Arizona.