Richard Rydberg

11/12/1932 – 7/3/2026

Richard Rydberg, 93, of Hanson Massachusetts passed away peacefully on July 3, 2026 at All American Assisted Living where he was a resident for 3 years. He is survived by his son Michael Rydberg of Plymouth MA and his daughter, Andrea Braverman of Philadelphia PA. He had 5 grandchildren, Jason and Justin Rydberg and Benjaman, Joseph and Jamie Braverman and 5 great grandchildren, Cameron, Caleb, Van, Wells and Zac Rydberg.

He was born and raised in Boston, MA the son of Carl and Edith Rydberg. His mother tragically died of pneumonia when he was still young. He had one older brother, Robert, who pre-deceased him in 1992. He grew up during the beginning of World War II and his father had to go away in the Navy to fight in the Pacific. During this time, he and his brother were sent to live with his aunt and grandmother in West Roxbury. When his father returned from the war, he was around more but he and Robert continued living with their aunt and grandmother. He really enjoyed playing football and baseball for fun as a kid. He was never a good student and was a couple years behind in school because his family moved around a lot.

He joined the Marine Corps when he was just 17 years old. He chose the Marines over other branches because they had the best recruiting. After bootcamp he was sent to Korea and served there for about 18 months. He was an infantryman and was assigned to the artillery. He set up placements outside and took some defense positions on hillsides.

After leaving the service, he underwent training in electronics. Once his training was complete, he was assigned to a ground radar department where he was in charge of setting up and maintaining equipment. He worked in the Boston Naval Shipyard as an electronic technician for a long time. After that he worked for Amtrack and retired with a Railroad pension.

He got married in 1954 to Joan LaBolliota and had 2 children, Michael and Andrea. He and Joan divorced in the 1970s. Richard moved to California after the divorce. He lived in Long Beach, CA for 25 years and enjoyed his time there.

Looking back on his life, the achievement that he said he is the proudest of is the time he served in Korea as a US Marine. It was an interesting and dangerous job and was certainly the most memorable time of his life.