AFRH-G Resident Highlight – Richard Michael Lasher
By Lori Kerns| AFRH-G Librarian

Richard Michael Lasher was born in March of 1922.  He was the third of six children raised by his parents in Huntingburg, a city in the southern part of Indiana.  He attended primary school at St. Mary’s but finished his education at his local public high school.  After graduating, he worked for a couple of years in a furniture factory before he was drafted to the Army Air Corps.

Richard began his military career in medical air evacuation.  He was stationed at a couple of bases in the U.S. before receiving orders to join the efforts of the European Theater during WWII.  When he returned back to the States, he retrained to begin a new position as an administrative specialist.  He worked in this field until computers were introduced and he was retrained to become a computer specialist. 

Richard remained in what was now the Air Force through the Korean War, although he remained stateside for the conflict.  After 22 years of service, he retired from his position as a computer maintenance superintendent.   However, his military career did not end.  Richard served eight more years in the Air Force Reserve, which also included time spent during the Vietnam War.  He dedicated 30 years to our country with a career spanning three wars.

Toward the beginning of Richard’s Air Force career, he had been stationed in California.  He had a young lady named Annie working for him.  The two began dating.  As a result, Richard ended up losing an employee but happily gained a wife.  Later, the couple had two sons, Richard, Jr. and Donald.  When asked if he now has any grandchildren or great grandchildren, Richard laughed and said, “A lot of them!”

After retiring from the military, Richard began a civilian career working for Sears and Roebuck.  He worked with the company for only a year before being promoted to manager of his own store in Texas City, Texas.  He stayed with Sears for ten years until retiring altogether.  He had always collected stamps so he continued dedicating his time to his hobby while his wife, Annie, remained at her job as a school teacher. 

The couple eventually moved next door to their son in Jennings, Louisiana.  While living there Richard had heard about his eligibility to live in AFRH-G.  He applied and was accepted pretty quickly.  Unfortunately, his move would have to be put on hold because Hurricane Katrina decided to come through and destroy the Home.  He decided to put his name on the list to move in once the AFRH-G was rebuilt. In the meantime, Richard lost his beloved Annie. 

In March of 2012, he was finally able to move into AFRH-G.  He began an extensive project of gathering information and photographs of the Pacific Theater in WWII.  He printed the information into posters and had them framed.  The 52 posters he created helped decorate the bare walls of the newly-built home.  Richard decided to pass on his stamp collection to one of his sons so that he could live a quieter retirement at the Home by enjoying some of the activities offered.  He’s very proud that in a few months he will be turning 97!