Richard Thomsen Sievers was born on July 13, 1919 in rural Walnut, Iowa. He was the son of Clarence and Amanda (Thomsen) Sievers and was the oldest of four children in the family. Richard was baptized at Peace United Church of Christ in Walnut. He attended school at Layton Township #8 and then Walnut High School, graduating in 1936. He attended the University of Iowa and received a bachelor of science in commerce degree, and was elected a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma academic fraternity. After college, he came back to Walnut and worked as the bookkeeper at Bakers Walnut Fruit and Grocery store.
On December 25, 1945, Richard was united in marriage to Phyllis Hansen at the English Lutheran Church in Avoca, Iowa, which later merged into Trinity Lutheran Church. They were the parents of two daughters, Diane and Patricia. The family lived on Phyllis’ parents’ farm west of Walnut until 1954 when they moved to a farm south of Avoca. In 1961, they moved to their home southeast of Walnut. He retired in 1994.
Richard enjoyed photography, baking bread and building and flying remote control airplanes, genealogy and working on the computer. Phyllis died on August 16, 2007 and Richard remained in his home until December of 2007 when he moved to the Avoca Lodge Assisted Living in Avoca.
Richard died on Monday, July 14, 2008 at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska. He had attained the age of eighty nine years and one day. He was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Phyllis, his sister, Elaine “Sally” Erickson and his two brothers, Roy and Lee.
Richard is survived by his daughters, Diane Sievers of South Deerfield, Massachusetts and Patricia Lehnhardt and her husband, James, of Galena, Illinois; a grandson, Aaron Lehnhardt and his wife, Priscilla, and their daughter, Nyaa, of Mission Viejo, California; other relatives and many friends.