Monday, January 17, 2022
I send my condolences to his wife and children, who he loved deeply. I am very sad to hear of Richard’s death. He was my best friend from the time we met in kindergarten at the Noah Webster School in Hartford, Connecticut until our family moved to Woodstock in the middle of our seventh grade year. It was a time when children played after school until time for supper. And we built forts in the woods, learned to ride two wheelers, skated at Elizabeth Park, played softball and walked each other home. We talked. We talked about everything we knew or did not know, what we were curious about or were trying to figure out. He was a good talker and a thoughtful listener. I believe he made my childhood happy and I hope I did the same for him. Later in our forties we reunited in conversation and were able to meet a few times. We were glad to have a connection back to our young selves. But we lived a fair distance and both of us were deeply committed to our families and our professional life, so if we could meet or talk, that was a rare luxury.
