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Wendy Richards '87 and family start foundation for children in Hawaii who have lost a parent

Portland Magazine

Alumni

February 14, 2020

Wendy RichardsHawaii News Now recently featured a “Hometown Hero” story on Wendy Richards ’87 and her late husband Reid ’88, and the foundation that Reid’s family started to help students who have lost a parent reach their educational goals.

Wendy and Reid started dating on The Bluff. They were both from Hawaii, naturally gravitated to UP’s robust Hawaiian Club, and both became business computer systems majors (though Reid earned an additional degree in accounting and Wendy stayed with information systems). They used to go to the Sunday evening Mass together. “Reid suggested it,” Wendy says. “It put me in a good place for the week.”

When they moved back to Hawaii, they started their family. Reid became a CPA, and Wendy got a job at University of Hawaii, where she is now the director of information technology at the Cancer Center. In 1997, Reid was diagnosed with an aggressive lymphoma; he died one year later.

Wendy soon found that losing a parent was a unique experience that required unique support. When she mentioned her struggle to find resources in Hawaii for children who had lost a parent, Reid’s family determined that this would be the focus of the foundation and a way to honor Reid. They started with bereavement programs and evolved to scholarships. At this point the Reid J.K. Foundation has awarded nearly 50 scholarships. Wendy says she is always amazed each year when she reads the scholarship applications, how, in the face of their adversity, their “character comes through.”