Hillsboro High School Alumni
Hillsboro, Oregon (OR)
Richard Uhrich
Hillsboro High School
Class of 1960
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RICHARD'S PROFILE
| First Name | Richard |
| Last Name | Uhrich |
| Graduation Year | Class of 1960 |
| Gender | Male |
| City | N/A |
| State/Province | OR |
| Country | United States |
| Occupation | engineer |
| Married | Yes |
| About Me | When I was 25 I was rear-ended at a stop sign by a drunk driver. I was left nearly totally paralyzed from the neck down. Fortunately I had my degrees from Caltech and USC and had just passed my engineering licensing exam. Most importantly, I had worked four promising years as a civilian employee of a U. S. Navy research laboratory, and was covered by the federal employeesâ�� health benefits plan. This meant I could not be dropped and I could not be refused if I upgraded to a better insurance plan. This did not save me from going on welfare during the year of recovery and rehab, but I returned to work from a nursing just two hours as day. By this time I had recovered enough use of my right arm to control my power wheelchair, turn pages, write and draw with a felt tipped pen strapped to my hand, and to type with one finger. I was able to sell my Corvette and motorcycle and buy a wheelchair van. I rented a garage that had been converted into a tiny apartment and I hired one of my nurses as a live-in attendant. We were married a few months later. Within a few years I had transferred to a new lab in San Diego, was working full time and off welfare and we had even managed to buy a house in a rather nice neighborhood near work. Then the marriage failed after 6 or 7 years and I was forced to return to working from a nursing home. Again, after a year I hired a nurse as a live-in attendant. This time I moved into her home with her three kids. We were married a few months later. Shirley and I have been married 33 years. I worked for 37 years for the Navy. Nearly all those years were spent on the pioneering edge of deep ocean robotics. I began by designing manipulators and controls. Then I became more involved in theoretical aspects of underwater search, vision and sonar. I found myself at the core of a small, elite team of engineers and technicians dedicated to underwater search. We designed systems, built them, tested them at sea, maintained and improved them, and started over by redesigning them with lessons learned. As computers became more important in controlling mechanical devices, I found my place as a programmer who understood the needs of both mechanical engineers and electronic engineers. I never really considered retiring, even when one of my team members remarked of one of my reports that most of them werenâ��t even born when it was published. But I began to see the writing on the wall in the late 1990s. Our division, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, began getting more funding for aerial and land robots than for underwater. Classified war-fighting robots were he future. I retired in early 2001. In 2005 Shirley and I moved from crowded San Diego to a small Oregon beach town. We have a terrific panoramic ocean view. Iâ&...(read more) |
Class of 1960 Alumni and Other Nearby Classes
→ Reunite with 14 class of 1960 alumni that have joined.
Elaine Miles
Class of 1978
Cathy Marion
Class of 1974
Tiffany Shottenkirk
Class of 2010
Craig Meyer
Class of 1989
Dave Babcock
Class of 1974
Norma Martinez
Class of 1979
Kenny Chesterfield
Class of 1982
Ken Smith
Class of 1975
James Cameron
Class of 1983
Jack Dobie
Class of 1959
Lisa Wallway
Class of 1981
Lori Hering
Class of 1984
Cathy Thomas
Class of 1969
Tracey Jackson
Class of 1981
Juanita Eastwood
Class of 1962
Michael Hofer
Class of 1976
Ana Monteiro
Class of 1986
Steve Johnson
Class of 2000
Recent Class of 1960 Reunions
Plan a Class of 1960 Reunion for Free
50th Class Reunion of Hilhi 1960
Invited Classes: 1960
Date: Sep 18, 2010
Description: We also have on Sept 17th at Farmhouse Restaurant, across from Hillsboro Airport. 6:30 no chg. Classmate night Patio Soc...(read more)