Bland Zeno Richardson

On Monday morning of November 16, 2015, Bland Zeno Richardson passed from this earth to join his beloved Nelda in the loving arms of Jesus.

Born on October 12, 1922, Bland was the second of Reverend and Mrs. James C. Richardson’s four sons. He was raised in Poplarville, Mississippi, where his father served as pastor of the First Baptist Church, and where the four “preacher’s boys” created adventure on a daily basis. They became Eagle Scouts together in 1939, the same year that Bland rode the bus alone to the NYC World’s Fair to volunteer at the Boy Scout Service Camp. At age 17, Bland’s adventure was joining the CCC’s to work a few months as a lumberjack in the Northwest, before deciding that school didn’t look so bad after all.

At age 18, Bland eloped with Nelda Bass, a Poplarville native. Though Nelda had once sworn “she’d never marry one of those Richardson boys,” she joined Bland as fellow-adventurer and supporter for 63 years of marriage before she died in 2004.

Bland’s was a military family. His father served as an Army Chaplain during both World Wars. The four brothers served overseas during or post WWII. Brother Jack was killed in Germany. Bland specialized in aircraft engineering, receiving his officer’s commission from Yale before being sent with the occupation forces to Berlin in 1945. Nelda soon followed and their daughter, Lynda was born. Bland was first charged with helping rebuild Berlin’s Tempelhof Airfield. After the Russians closed all transport routes to the city in an attempt to drive out the US and Western allies, Bland’s job was then to ensure that all incoming supply planes could fly out safely during what was called the Berlin Airlift.

1950 found Bland and family stationed at USAF base in Great Falls, Montana, where son Jack was born. When the kerosene-oil stove that heated the family’s trailer exploded late one night, Bland saved his children but was severely burned in the process. For two years, he underwent over 20 surgeries to reconstruct his nose, face, ears and hands. In 1952, Captain Richardson officially retired with 100% disability from the Air Force.

Undeterred by disability, Bland returned with his family to Mississippi where he further rehabilitated. He developed a heavy equipment business: clearing farmland, building lakes and ponds. And after five years, he decided to pursue Aeronatical Engineering, switching after a couple of years to a more hands-on degree in Forestry from the University of Montana. In 1964, Bland joined the USDA Forest Service at Logan’s research station at Utah State University as a research scientist in watershed management.

For over 20 years Bland was a US Forestry researcher and professor, specializing in water and land reclamation and in surface mine rehabilitation. He was dubbed “The Mountain Mover” since he often operated heavy equipment himself in reshaping rehabilitation sites. He was a team member of the western Surface Environment and Mining project (SEAM), reclaiming numerous harsh sites across the western states and publishing some forty papers of his findings and techniques. The USDA recognized Bland with many awards at the national level, including two Superior Service Awards and several Certificates of Merit and Appreciation. He served on the National Academy of Science to develop reclamation guidelines for mining sites in the West.

For recreation, Bland and Nelda both loved hunting, boating and snowmobiling. They made over thirty snowmobile trips into Yellowstone Park, taking family and friends from all over the country. And in the driveway, Bland was always building or rebuilding a boat.

Bland was a Commander of the Utah State University American Legion Post, a 32nd degree Scottish Rite Mason, a York Rite Mason, and a member of Shriners of North America. He was a Rotarian in the city of Logan, having served on the Board of Directors and as chairman of the Fellowship Committee. He and Nelda were both Paul Harris recipients.

Bland Richardson celebrated his 93rd birthday on October 12 and his last Veterans Day on November 11. He was a man who loved challenges. There was no task that daunted him. However, it wasn’t only what he achieved, but the people he affected that made him who he was. The spirit of “The Mountain Mover” lives on in the legacy of his surviving family: his son Jack, Jack’s wife Denise, grandson James, great-grandsons Tyler and Jordan; his daughter Lynda, her husband John Geames, granddaughters Erin and Jolyn and her husband Ryan Pate, great-grandchildren Holly and Sam Pate. He is also survived by his youngest brother John, wife Jeweline and their daughters Margaret, Julie and Mary and their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Funeral directors are Allen-Halll Mortuary, Logan, Utah.