Mormon family on November 25, 1892, Utah was on the verge of the transition between a territory and a state. Paul's grandfather was Dr. Willard Richards, an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who survived the mob attack at Carthage Jail when the faith's founder, Joseph Smith, was slain. Paul's father, Willard Brigham Richards, was born in Winter Quarters during the Mormon trek west to Utah. But Paul Richards was a man of the twentieth century. After obtaining a medical degree from Harvard, he served most of his professional life as a physician in Bingham Canyon. By the time of his death in 1958, he was a recognized national authority in industrial medi-cine.

The fourth child of Willard Brigham Richards and Louise Snelgrove, Paul grew up in Salt Lake City. His father worked two farms outside of Salt Lake City, though he raised his family on an eighteen-acre lot at 1935 South 900 East …