And now, all the rooms he spent the most time in have been destroyed by fire.
Like the rest of the community, he woke to the devastating news of the school fire on Saturday morning.
It’s prompted a lot of reflection for Mr Richards, who said he’s also been contacted by a lot of other former Deni High teachers who were shocked at what had happened.
“I only have good memories of being a teacher at Deniliquin High School,” Mr Richards said.
“I came to Deni in 1992, and I left the school in 2013, after my son Vince died.
“I personally did a lot of the infrastructure work in the school library, and I know a lot of teaching resources would have also been lost in those areas.
“The more you think about it, the more devastating it becomes.
“I’m just relieved no-one was hurt, and when the chips are down, we know this community rallies.”
It goes without saying that Mr Richards spent a lot of the school week in the industrial arts rooms lost in the fire, but he revealed he spent many evenings and weekends there too.
“It’s one of those jobs, there’s no end to teaching.
“I would often spend time there on the weekend, or doing work from home to prepare for the week ahead.
“Even though it’s been a while since I taught there, every time I drive past it, it's there in my psyche.
“But in saying that, it’s not about the buildings - it’s about the people. Teaching is not just a job, it’s about helping people.
“I feel for those teachers who have lost all their resources and some belongings, but I know a lot of the old guard of teachers still there, and I know they will carry the weight and see everyone through.
“The silver lining is that no-one was hurt, and with changes in how people are educated a lot of the resources can now be delivered to students online.”
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