Richard Marsh Gustafson, 69, of Cypress, passed away April 29, 2022. Richard  was born May 12, 1952, in Lynn, Massachusetts to the late Richard Lee Gustafson and Barbara (Marsh) Gustafson.

Richard is survived by his, wife, Mary Gustafson; son Gregory Gustafson, granddaughter, Ivy Gustafson; sisters, Diane (Glenn) Klare, Sarah (James) Thompson; nephews, Scott Klare, Russell Klare, Nathaniel Thompson, Samuel Thompson and Zachary Thompson.

Including his parents Richard was preceded in death by his uncle and his wife, Harold and Janet Gustafson.

Richard's early years were spent on the North Shore of Massachusetts.  Then his family settled in Lyme, Connecticut, where Richard embraced the rural close knit community–cow pasture across the road, bicycling to friends and school, a place where you knew everyone.  Richard was a volunteer firefighter with his father in Lyme in his teens, and he continued his service with his plant fire department as an engineer.

After earning degrees in Biology and Chemical Engineering, Richard began his work in Process Safety as an engineer in a plant.  His work transitioned into modeling various scenarios in the processes of the plant and company.  After earning his Masters, Richard's work turned to consulting on a wide range of industrial, safety and hazard applications.  With his intellectual curiosity and strong analytical skills, he would dive into any technical challenge presented to him.  With a desire to help develop critical thinking in future generations of Engineers, Richard embarked on a PhD in Materials Science and Engineering in 2010, while still consulting.  Richard was less than 2 months from his goal when he passed away.

Richard loved people and tried to help anyone in need. Over the years he was active in church, singing, chanting and teaching Sunday school. He founded the first Boy Scout Troop in our community, as its first scoutmaster.  Richard had the pleasure of seeing his son, Gregory, earn his Eagle Scout Rank in that troop.  Richard brought his curiosity to his wide range of interests including photography and creative arts, as well as hiking, bicycling and RVing with his wife of almost 44 years, Mary, and had been looking forward to continuing these pursuits and others in his golden years.

His love, concern and twinkle in his eye will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, May 17, 2022 at 10:00 AM at St Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 16900 Rosehill Rd, with Fr. Dejan presiding.  Interment to follow in Klein Memorial Park, Cypress North Houston.

Serving as pallbearers are Glenn Klare, Russell Klare, Scott Klare, James Thompson, Sarah Thompson and Samuel Thompson. Memorial contributions can be made to the National Safety Council ( www.nsc.org ) or the Houston Food Bank (www.houstonfoodbank.org).