Riverside, Calif., April 11, 2000--H. M. S. Richards Jr., speaker emeritus of the Voice of Prophecy international radio broadcast, died of heart failure on April 11 at Glendale (Calif.) Adventist Medical Center. He was 70. Pastor Richards had suffered from Parkinson's disease for several years and this winter was diagnosed with kidney failure.

A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 16, at the Loma Linda University Church. Condolences may be sent to the family through the Voice of Prophecy, 101 W. Cochran Street, Simi Valley, CA 93065. A memorial fund is being established at the Voice of Prophecy.

Pastor Richards is survived by his mother, Mabel (age 100); his wife, Mary; their children, H. M. S. Richards III, Jon Lyall Richards, and Mary Margaret Richards King; seven grandchildren; his sister, Virginia Cason; his brothers, Kenneth and Jan; and several nieces and nephews.

Pastor Richards' father founded the Voice of Prophecy ministry on October 19, 1929, with a radio program on KNX, Los Angeles. Harold Marshall Sylvester Richards Jr. was born six days later on October 25, 1929.

As a young man, Harold never dreamed that he would continue in his father's footsteps as an evangelist and radio speaker. He had a severe lisp, making any kind of speaking difficult and embarrassing. As a teenager his goal was to be a band leader. When it became apparent that God was calling him to the ministry, he recalled his response, "If you want me to do this, You'll have to speak through me." Audiences through the years would never have suspected Richards' earlier lisp if he hadn't used the story many times to demonstrate how God can use an imperfect human being to share the gospel message.

Richards attended Glendale (Calif.) Academy, where he sang in a male quartet, played in the band, and was a student instructor on the trombone. His education continued at La Sierra University, Riverside, Calif., where he again played in the band, participated in other music activities, and was president of his junior class. He graduated in 1952 from the ministerial training course.

Twenty-five years later, in 1977, Pastor Richards was named alumnus of the year by Loma Linda University, and in 1990, he received the first alumnus of the year plaque given by the School of Religion at La Sierra University. He was awarded an honorary doctor of divinity degree at Southwestern Adventist College, Keene, Texas, in 1986.

Pastor Richards entered the ministry of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Dallas, Texas. Other pastorates followed in Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Wichita Falls, Texas. In 1956, at a camp meeting in Keene, Texas, he was ordained to the gospel ministry, with his father officiating. Following his ordination, Pastor Richards served as a pastor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, for four years. In 1960 he was invited to join the Voice of Prophecy staff to assist his father as associate director-speaker. Their roles reversed in 1969, and the father assisted his son in the radio ministry until his death in 1985.

Following his own retirement at the end of 1992, H. M. S. Richards Jr. assisted his successor, Lonnie Melashenko, by answering letters from listeners and donors, visiting ministry friends, and speaking at camp meetings and churches.

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