By KATHY PAULSEN
Staff Writer
At one point in his life, Dan Richards of Geneva planned to be a history teacher.
The plan changed when he was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1969.
Following basic training, Richards was trained as a medic and later sent to Vietnam. While serving his country, Richards received specialty training as a combat medic and learned battlefield surgery under some of the most difficult circumstances.
Richards could probably tell you a lot about his tour of duty in Vietnam. But we won’t.
As his tour of duty in Vietnam was coming to a close in 1971, Richards was encouraged to continue to work in the medical field by Dr. Blumer from Albert Lea. Blumer, a learned and family practice doctor, learned about Richards and his military medical experiences from Geneva resident Harold Wayne. Blumer felt Richards was just the kind of fellow he needed at Naeve. Richards was once again "recruited."
Richards was also introduced to Dr. Barr and Dr. Neel in Albert Lea and they worked together, helping others. Neel had the distinction of being trained by the Mayo brothers.
Neel was a walking history book. Richards developed a great admiration for him and later went on to name a surgical clamp after him. When someone on the surgical team said that they needed a "Harry Neel clamp," they all knew exactly what was needed.
Richards has worked with no less than 20 great surgeons and their teams over the past 40-plus years. He experienced a lot of changes and advancements in surgical practice while in Albert Lea.
"Dr. Dan," as he quite often was called, went on to teach some of the surgical procedures he learned.
Richards says he knows he will miss the routine, and sometimes not so routine, procedures he has dealt with. He feels privileged to have been able to work with some of the best surgeons, nurses and technicians.
But there are things he won’t miss.
"I won't miss being on call every fourth weekend," said Richards. "Now that I am retired, I don't have to set the alarm clock and I can get up when I want to."
He also plans to keep those surgeon’s hands busy.
"I am going to have to find something to do in retirement that makes good use of my hands," said Richards.
The ladies of the local churches may have their eyes and thoughts of recruiting him for their quilting teams, but he said, "I might try my hand at sculpting instead."
Richards also enjoys drawing pictures of houses, boats and jets.
"I do a pretty good job of drawing inanimate objects, but I can not draw people,” he said.
Of course he can always talk shop with his mother, Alice Richards, who spent years as a nurse in the same facility as he did.
Richards graduated from Ellendale High School in 1967 and married his high school sweetheart, Sue Muri. They are the parents of two boys, Tomm and Brett. Tomm and his wife, Tara, live in Mankato. Tomm is the regional sales manager for Miller Brewing. Brett and his wife Jessica live in Albert Lea. Brett is in partnership with his uncle, David Richards, at Richards Wood Products in Geneva. Dan and Sue are also the grandparents of Tristan, Taya, Torey, Tiegan, Maxx and Maya.
Richards was a three-sport athlete in high school and was a standout wrestler who also played football and baseball for the Ellendale-Geneva Raiders. He also went on to play fast-pitch softball for more than 35 years.
Richards’ grandkids are growing up fast, and he wants to show them he is proud and interested in their lives by attending their athletic events.
Richards likes to fish and hunt and has a home overlooking Geneva Lake, plus his own duck shack. Richards serves on the Geneva Lake Advisory Committee and said, "The committee was instrumental in lowering the lake which helped kill off the carp that were in the lake. The committee stocked the lake with northern pike and perch. Aerial observations show clean water and pot holes of plenty for the fish."
A surprise retirement party was held for Richards at Wedgewood Cove on one of his last days of workat the Mayo Health System - Albert Lea. A retirement tea was also held in his honor at the hospital.
Now that Richards is retired, he hopes to do some traveling. Several of the doctors and co-workers he worked with have arranged a trip for Dan and Sue to travel to Washington, D.C in November. They will be staying in the Willard Hotel, across the street from the White House. Richards is looking forward to visiting the Vietnam Memorial and plans to look for the names of three great friends he served with during his tour of duty in Vietnam. He also plans to look for the names of our local heroes, including Dale Otto, who grew up in Ellendale.
In addition to his trip to Washington, Richards was also presented with a number of other great gifts. Many of the doctors, nurses and technicians he worked with in Albert Lea presented him with a large memory board, which included notecards of memories the medical staff had of "Dr. Dan." He was presented one of his surgical scrubs that had been monogramed with his name and the years of his employment, 1971-2011, that had been framed. He was given a "Black Bart" character that was wearing the blue surgical scrubs and red shoes that Richards had worn all his years in the operating room. He was also presented an "Operation" board game that he will be able to play with his grandkids.
Loving history as he does, Richards reflected on his tour of duty in Vietnam. He spent a great deal of his time in Vietman at Ankhe, which is 10,000 feet above sea level and only 40 miles from the South China Sea. Richards concluded his thoughts saying, "Vietnam was beautiful, with lots of mountains, but it was deadly.”
