Obituary of Richard "Rick" Allen Nygaard, Jr.

Rick Nygaard, 65, of Colorado Springs passed away at home on July 26, 2020 after a long battle with cancer.He was born in Spokane, Washington and spent his life exploring electronics, software development, astronomy, wood-working, meditation and, in retirement, trucks and pop-up trailers. Rick was a man of many interests. There were very few topics that he did not know something about and many topics that he knew a great deal about. Rick earned his electrical engineering degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1977 and from there went to work for the Hewlett-Packard Company. He worked in the logic analysis sector of HP for thirty-eight years as its name changed from HP to Agilent Technologies to Keysight Technologies. He was hired as a hardware engineer and retired as a high-level software architect with many patents to his name. He is remembered as a highly technical and innovative colleague with a heart for helping others wherever there was a need.Rick was a devoted family man to his wife and three children. As a lover of exploration by car, he took his family on many road trips across the US including to Washington, the East Coast, and even to Alaska and the Arctic Ocean. He worked to keep all happy during these long journeys, taking time for scenic byways, historical landmarks, and fascinating points of interest. He was preceded in death by his son, Keith Nygaard in 2016; and by his father, Richard Nygaard in 2005. Rick is survived by his wife of thirty-six years, Cheryl Fallander Nygaard; his son, Ken (Kathryn) Nygaard; his daughter, Marcia (Konnor) Erdman; his mother, Patricia Nygaard; his brother, Rod (Lynn) Nygaard; Rod's children, Natalie and Josh; and cousin, Pam (Gene) McVay. Celebration of Life, 10:00AM-12:30PM, Saturday, August 15, 2020, Hillside Gardens and Event Center, 1006 South Institute Street, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. This outdoor facility is very open and is not limited on attendees. However, we are asking everyone to wear face masks/face covers. Thank you to all for doing this.The formal service will be from 10:00AM to 11:00AM, followed by time to socialize, walk around and look at interesting memorabilia from Rick's life. The services will be streamed live. The link to watch the Celebration of Life is on Richard's Tribute Wall on The Springs Funeral Services' website.Our family is hoping that you will come with stories and memories of Rick and, for those that are comfortable presenting, we hope that you will share some of those during an open mic period during the service.In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in Rick's memory may be made to the American Cancer Society, cancer.org, or memorial contributions for a tree to be planted at the family gravesite at Evergreen Cemetery may be made directly to the family.Inurnment, Evergreen Cemetery, 1005 Hancock Expressway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80903. Events Celebration of Life Saturday, August 15, 2020 10:00AM - 12:30PM Hillside Gardens and Event Center 1006 South Institute St Colorado Springs, CO 80903 Phone: 719-328-1793 Final Resting Place Evergreen Cemetery 1005 Hancock Expressway Colorado Springs, CO 80903