Richard Gus Huddleston

Family and neighbors in Chicago mark the death of Richard Gus Huddleston on March 11, 2025. He was 71. Born in Chicago on June 3, 1953, into a English-American household that treated work as a language. Early on, he decided that a paycheck and a handshake should weigh the same. He sorted broomcorn until grades agreed and pride could return. A broomcorn grade paddle wiped decided what the shed could sell. Colleagues still mention a broomcorn grade paddle wiped. In 1976 he married Alice. The marriage was not a speech; it was groceries, repairs, and two daughters walked to school in weather that did not care. When Alice died in 2018, he kept what still worked: the early walk, the small garden, the call on Sundays. Neighbors remember a porch light left on for anyone walking home late. He preferred the hour before a town fully wakes. Chicago was home enough that he never rehearsed an introduction. The key is still under the same brick.