Richard Lee Sites

Richard Lee Sites of Pleasanton died July 11, surrounded by his close family. He was 76.

Sites was born in Schulter, Oklahoma on February 18, 1938 to Ollie Mae Shaw and Ben Sites. He moved to California in 1943 and lived his young life in San Francisco. He graduated from Balboa High School in 1955 and City College of San Francisco 1958.

Sites moved to Livermore and started his career at Sandia National Laboratory in July 1958. It was there that he met Mary Claire Ayen who became his wife in August 1961. In 1965, Sites graduated on the Dean's List with a bachelor's degree in industrial technology from San Jose State College. He was hired by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1965 and retired in 1998. During his career at Lawrence Laboratory, Sites worked in Purchasing and on the Advance Test Accelerator (ATA) project. He worked in Laser Programs on Janus through Shiva, early experimental versions that led to the National Ignition Facility (NIF). The last few years before he retired, he worked in Chemistry as an engineering coordinator. One interesting project was preparing a trailer to be sent to Chernobyl after the radiation leak. After his retirement, Sites went back to the Lab as a contract worker for the Public Affairs Office as a docent of the Discovery Center and tour guide conducting community tours of the Laboratory. He was so proud of the Lab and the work being accomplished there. After five years working as a docent, health issues forced him to retire.

On a personal level, Sites was also accomplished. He studied and received his real estate broker's license and worked awhile for Century 21. Real estate and construction always interested him. In 1969, he and his wife started building a four-plex apartment, followed by two homes and refurbishing two homes.

Sites loved cars, especially his 1996 Corvette and his 1972 GMC black pickup. His goal in retirement was to restore the pickup which his nephew did for him. The last few years of his life, he suffered from emphysema and was limited by what he could do. He still enjoyed social events with friends in the Sno*Flakes Ski Club.

Sites is survived by his wife, Mary Claire; brother, Edward (Joanne) Sites of Dublin; sister, Doris Ann Dempsey (Patrick) of Paso Robles; sister-in-law, Jacqueline Ann Colt of Las Vegas, Nevada; nieces Susan Marie Harkness (David Singer) of Atascadero, Carol Lynn Lewis (Lane) of Livermore and Nancy Ann Moyers (Paul Souza) of Pleasanton; nephews James Patrick Dempsey (Terri Rose) of Paso Robles, Craig Brennan Colt of Cave Junction, Oregon and Brian Tracy Colt of Las Vegas, Nevada; great niece, Amaya Rose Dempsey of Paso Robles and great nephew, Alec John Lewis of Livermore. He also leaves behind his devoted dachshund, Holly Noelle. Sites is preceded in death by his parents; nephew, John Michael Sites and son, Steven Lee Sites.

A vigil will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 17 at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Pleasanton, 3999 Bernal Ave. A mass will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, July 18, also at St. Augustine Catholic Church. Interment will follow the mass at St. Augustine Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Site's favorite charities: UCSF Foundation, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, California 94145-0339 (UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center) or Valley Humane Society, 3670 Nevada St., Pleasanton, California 94566.