After his father, Egbert Wesley Jayne, passed away when Richard was eight years old, he left his home in Orange moved to Mecca, south of Indio, and then Idyllwild where he lived with his aunt and uncle, Donald and Helen (Hammond) Jayne. During these years, he attended the Desert Sun School, of which Helen Jayne was a founder.

At age 13, Richard returned to Orange and his mother and stepfather, Nora (Heaton) (Jayne) and Charles Hertrick, and younger sister, Janet (Jayne) McCrory. He attended Orange High School (the original campus which is now part of Chapman University), where he began to foster his relationship with Ruby Lynn (Smith) Jayne, who would become his wife of 35 years.

After their marriage in 1954, Richard enlisted in the Air Force and the newlyweds moved to Amarillo, where they lived in a small house, endured winter snow, and made many good friends and memories. In December of 1955, they visited California over the holidays and while there, welcomed their first-born daughter, Cynthia Lynn Jayne. In 1957, while still living in Texas, Richard’s second daughter, Rhonda Leigh (Jayne) Stannard, was born. After completing his service duties, the family returned to California and moved to Anaheim, where Richard and Ruby eventually bought their first home in 1962. In 1963, their third daughter, Shelly Ann Jayne, was born, and in 1966, their fourth daughter, Jennifer Rebecca (Jayne) Bell, was born.

During these years, Richard attended Fullerton Junior College part-time, earning his AA degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1964. He was employed by Autonetics (subsequently North American Rockwell, and then Boeing ) for more than 30 years.

In addition to working full-time as a mechanical engineer, Richard took on many second jobs to make ends meet. This included working as an usher at Angel Stadium and Anaheim Convention Center, a gas station attendant, maintaining a paper route for both the Fullerton News Tribune and Los Angeles Times, and eventually acquiring a pool cleaning and service business that he owned and operated for 20-plus years.

Richard and Ruby bought a new home and in 1976 moved to Placentia, where he lived for the next ten years until his divorce in 1986. At that time, Richard moved to Fullerton, where he resided until his passing.