Obituary of Richard W. Svenson

Richard W (Rick) Svenson 77 passed away quietly in Tucson, Arizona on February 22, 2024, after a long illness. During his final days, he was surrounded by his loving family. Rick was born in Long Island, New York City, New York on October 11, 1946. He is survived by his wife, Arlene, daughter Kellie Jung (Steve), son Eric (Emily), grandchildren Shane and Carden Jung, and sister Roslyn Kuh. Rick and Arlene were the love of each other’s life for 61 years having been high school sweethearts for five years before marrying in 1967.

Richard graduated from Norwich High School, in Norwich N.Y. at the age of 16 and then joined a Union Apprentice Program becoming a Journeyman Plumber four years later. Early in his plumbing career, Richard had a serious accident in a wet church basement when his jackhammer cut into an unknown electrical service and electrocuted him. His life was saved by a quick-thinking co-worker who cut off the power, but this incident caused him to suffer from health issues for the remainder of his life. Arlene noted that in spite of his health struggles, he managed to excel in every opportunity that was presented to him throughout his life. In 1978, the family moved to Tucson, AZ where Dick (as he was known to his colleagues) made a career change to work for design firms in the area of Quality Control and Construction Administration. Dick became an expert in his field over the next thirty years helping to design and build a number of micro-electronics manufacturing facilities for companies like IBM and Micron, plus several significant hospitals for organizations like UCLA and USC. Twenty-one of those years were spent at Anderson, DeBartolo, Pan in Tucson where his hard work and expertise were recognized with his promotion to Associate in spite of the fact that he never attended college.

In 2008, Rick was diagnosed with Wet Macular Degeneration, causing his eyesight to deteriorate rapidly. Soon after, Rick retired, and he and Arlene returned from Los Angeles to Tucson because of a familiarity with the area and an extensive low-vision/blind community. Rick and Arlene joined the Tucson Society of the Blind, the Udall Community Center, the TMC Senior Center, and the Lions Club. All embraced Rick and welcomed him as one of their old lost friends. Rick was able to care for his health and enjoyed every day he was able to. He especially enjoyed bowling for the blind.

The Covid lockdown was especially hard on Rick, and he never fully recovered. All his loved activities came to a halt. Rick and Arlene became creative in those fourteen months, keeping Rick active within the confines of the restrictions. However, the wear and tear on his health became quite a challenge for him. By the end of August 2023, he was in the hospital almost every two months, then rehab. Each time he was pleased with how much better he felt. Walking without a walker was a goal of his and he did … until he didn’t. Rick rose to the occasion with each challenge. While in rehab, he rooted for the AZ Diamond Backs baseball team in October, with his wife and daughter cheering the players on. Along with celebrating his birthday many residents and staff joined in. He had quite a following there who were very saddened to learn of his passing.

Finally, on February 22, 2024, Rick’s body simply gave out on him. The family never saw it coming because he came back from such impossible health issues before, they thought of Rick as strong even when he wasn’t, he always returned to the ones he loved.

My family asks that in lieu of flowers, please donate to the Lion’s Club, at Tucson Rincon Lion’s Foundation- 6581 E Cooper St., Tucson, AZ 85710.