O. Mark and Gertrude Richards Papers

Oliver Mark Richards was born on 29 March 1888 to Nelson Mark and Ida Burrows Richards Jr. in Cortland, Ohio. Nelson Richards owned and operated the Richards Milling Company in Cortland. O. Mark Richards enrolled at Oberlin, eventually graduating from Oberlin College with his A.B. degree in 1910. During Richards' senior year at Oberlin College, a fire destroyed the Richards milling company. Following his graduation, Richards returned to Cortland to help his father rebuild a plant for the milling of flour. A lifelong career at Richards Milling Company followed, and Oliver Mark Richards eventually became its President in 1938.

Richards spent his first thirty-five years in Cortland. In addition to working there, he served his community in many important ways: Mayor of Cortland (1913-15), President of the Cortland School Board, the Warren Rotary Club (1932-33), and the Board of Public Welfare (1939-46). Richards also served as a member of the National Council of the YMCA (1936-46), the World War II Draft Board (1940-47), and the Trumbull County Boy Scout Council. Active church involvement led to directing a Methodist church choir and serving as Sunday school teacher. But, his life of service did not end here. In 1946, Richards moved to Warren, Ohio. Here he served as President of the City Hospital Board (1942-57), of the Warren YMCA Board (1940-57), and of the county Library Board (1952-57). While Richards never returned to Oberlin in any formal capacity after 1910, a document in his Alumni records provides a clue about his goals in life: "Oberlin gives one an impulse for service which stays by."

During his Oberlin days, Richards met Gertrude Emily Hocking (b. 16 September 1886), who graduated from Oberlin's Kindergarten Training School in 1910. On 16 August 1913, the couple married, and this union produced five future Oberlin graduates: Walter H. Richards, OC '37, Richard Richards, OC '38, Nelson F. Richards, OC '40, Barbara G. (Richards) Fishel, OC '41, and J. Ruth (Richards) Cole, OC '45. Several more generations of Oberlin graduates, including Walter Bruce Richards, OC '61, Professor of Physics, and now Associate Dean at Oberlin College, were born to these families. While Gertrude taught Kindergarten in Florence, Wisconsin, and Gary, Indiana, before her marriage, she was active in community leadership throughout her life. Gertrude served as the first President and as Treasurer of the Cortland PTA, President and co-founder of the Cortland Junior Literary Club, President of the Youngstown District Women's Society of Christian Service, the Delphian Study Club, the Trumbull County Women's Clubs, the Board of the Rebecca Williams Community House, and the Warren Fortnightly Study Club.

During more than 77 years of marriage, O. Mark and Gertrude Richards traveled extensively throughout the U.S., Europe, South America, and South Africa. In 1957 the couple retired to Clearwater, Florida, but in 1978 relocated to Boulder, Colorado to be closer to family. After long and full lives, O. Mark Richards died at the age of 103 in 1991, and Gertrude passed away at 106 in 1993.

In March 1986, the O. Mark and Gertrude Richards Scholarship was established through contributions from members of the Richards family. The scholarship is awarded to a Junior or Senior at Oberlin College who shows promise of contributing significantly to the well being of society.

Sources Consulted

Alumni Records for O. Mark Richards (RG 28); Admissions Records for O. Mark Richards and Gertrude Emily Hocking, Admissions Office, Oberlin College (RG 25); and Bruce Richards, Associate Dean, Oberlin College.

Note written by Julie A. Petersen.