Clarence Millard Richards passed away Wednesday, April 10, 2013, at Cookeville Regional Medical Center following an extended illness.

He was the son of the late George Verble and Lockie Belle Eldridge Richards of Cookeville. Born in the Dry Valley area of Overton County, Richards was a 1941 graduate of Rickman High School, where he was president of his senior class, and played varsity basketball. He entered Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (TPI) in 1941 to study pre-medicine. At the outbreak of World War II, having just turned 18, Richards volunteered for service in the Army Air Corps, with the intention of entering pilot training. In the post-D-Day period of the war, his skills were needed elsewhere, and he became a radio operator on B-24s. While assigned to Langley Field, Va., he served as crew member, patrolling the East Coast against U-Boat infiltration. The War winding down, his skills as a teacher and mentor were called into action, and he was tasked to train others to become radio operators. He taught radio school at Rockhurst College near Kansas City, Mo., and later assigned to Scott Field, Illinois, where he mustered out. Richards received an Honorable Discharge on Feb. 17, 1946, and returned to Tennessee Tech to complete his studies. His military decorations include an Air Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, American Campaign Medal, and the Army Good Conduct Medal. He graduated from TPI with a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture and became a Plant and Soils Scientist.

Richards spent his entire career in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, first as a District Soil Conservationist in Greeneville, Tenn., and retired as an area conservationist for the Knoxville area. Shortly after joining the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), he was selected for further training in leadership and assigned to Washington, D.C., where he undertook graduate studies at The American University in 1952-53. He received multiple awards for his work in the Greene County Soil Conservation District, and continued to be asked to apply his gift for teaching by training and mentoring as many as 31 soil conservation trainees. Many of his trainees rose through the ranks of soil conservation to hold posts at the district, area, and state levels.

While in Greeneville, Richards was active in his church, the First Methodist (later Christ United Methodist) Church, the Rotary International Club, where he served as president, was president of the Greene County Fair Board, and served as president of the Tennessee Tech Alumni Association in 1974. He was named "Distinguished Alumnus of the Year" in 1986 by the Tennessee Technological University Agriculture Foundation.

He returned to Cookeville in 1983, having retired from the USDA after 33 years of service. Together with W. Clyde Hyder, he was instrumental in further development of the Agriculture Foundation at Tennessee Tech, where he served as executive secretary, a post he held for 23 years. Throughout his life, Richards remained true to his calling to be, in his words, "A Steward of the Earth." He received the "Environmental Educator of the Year" award from the Putnam County Schools for his volunteer work at Project: S.T.E.P., establishing the Environmental Classroom at Park View Elementary School in 1993. Richards served several years as an Associate Member of the Putnam County Soil Conservation District Board. In the 1990s, he served with an environmental group whose focus was Abandoned Mine Reclamation, serving one term as its President. He frequently testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of this group, and led the effort to protect the Environment. Additionally, Richards was a member of the Volunteer Auxiliary at Cookeville General Hospital (later, Cookeville Regional Medical Center), installing Life Lines throughout Putnam County. He served as president of Life Line in the mid-1990s. Richards was a lifelong member of the Methodist Church, and a faithful member of First United Methodist Church, Cookeville. He was a member of the Breakfast Rotary Club for a number of years.

Richards is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mary Lou Johnston Richards; two daughters, Melinda ("Mendy") and Claire, a son-in-law, Kim McMillan; two grandsons, Chase and Rob McMillan; and his beloved Jack Russell Terrier, Rusty.

Visitation was held Friday, April 12, 2013, at First United Methodist Church, Cookeville. Funeral services were held there Saturday, April 13, 2013.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to the First United Methodist Building Fund or the Ag Foundation at Tennessee Tech University.

Crest Lawn Funeral Home-Cremation Center in Cookeville is in charge of arrangements (931) 526-6384