Paul Frank Richardson passed away peacefully on Tuesday, February 25, 2025, at the age of 83 at IU/Methodist Hospital Hospice unit in Indianapolis. He was born on October 24, 1941, in Hendricks County, Plainfield, Indiana to the late Clarence and Louella (Peacock) Richardson.
On June 9, 1963, he married his high school sweetheart, Sharon Zimmerman. Paul was a loving father to son, Jeffrey Richardson of North Salem, and daughter, Paula (Bob) Ritter of Loveland, Ohio. Sharon and Paul were blessed with grandchildren, Gavin Paul Ritter and Alexandra Kathryn Ritter. He is survived by his brother, Jim of Washington, PA and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and sister, Mary Lou Kelley, brother, Bob Richardson and nieces Toni Richardson, Becky Richardson and Mandy Richardson.
Paul was a graduate of the class of 1959 at North Salem High School. He was active in school sports, especially basketball, and was the Valedictorian of the class. After high school graduation, Paul attended Rose Polytechnic Institute of Technology (Rose Hulman) where he majored in Chemical Engineering. He was a member of Blue Key, Tau Beta Pi and graduated with honors.
Upon graduation in 1963, Paul was hired by the E. I duPont de Nemours & Co. at the East Chicago plant. While in the area, their son Jeff was born. In the Chicago area, Paul attained his master’s degree in chemical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. In 1971, Paul took a new position in LaPorte, Texas at the agrochemical plant located on the Houston ship channel. In Texas, Paul and Sharon made many friends and enjoyed the many activities that the region offered. Their daughter, Paula, was born there. Paul enjoyed playing golf and was a member of a sailing team. In 1980, Paul moved to Wilmington, Delaware, corporate office for E. I duPont. In this location Paul worked in the Employee Benefits Division and made trips out of the country and to many duPont offices throughout the US. In 1992, Paul retired and several years later Paul and Sharon moved to the Zimmerman family farm near North Salem, IN. They now make their permanent home in Plainfield. After retirement Sharon and Paul enjoyed many winters in Punta Gorda, Florida. While in Florida, Paul took advantage of the weather and played lots of golf. He also had an interest in auto racing, especially Formula 1 and attended the Indianapolis 500 multiple times. Paul especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren.
A celebration of life service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at Porter and Hunt Funeral Home & Crematory, 6 South California Street, in North Salem, Indiana. Friends may gather for a time of visitation from 11:00 a.m. to the time of service.
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to be made in Paul’s name to the leukemia and lymphoma society, https://givenow.lls.org.
Online condolences: www.RobertPorterFuneralHome.com