Richmond L. Greene

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Richmond “Rich” Lewis Greene of West Boylston, formerly of Paxton and Torrington, Conn., died peacefully on Monday, June 24, 2013. He was 92.

He was born in Forestville, Conn., on February 28, 1921, to Sylvia (Handy) and Lester Harlem Greene.

He graduated from the University of Connecticut and attended Cornell University at Officer’s Candidate School with the onset of WW II. He was commissioned as a 2nd lieutenant on the destroyer escort, the USS Cole and spent most of his wartime in the Pacific.

After the war, Rich was employed in the clock industry working for Seth Thomas Clock in Bristol, Conn., Hayden Manufacturing Co. in Torrington and Gilbert Clock in Winsted, to name a few. He also worked for Ingrahams as a sales manager. Richmond moved his family to Torrington in 1948 where they remained until 2009. There, he was a founding member of the Drakeville Volunteer Fire Department and the Park Pond Swim Club. He was president of the Forbes School PTA and a staunch supporter of the YMCA and the Litchfield Junior Republic as well as a member of the Torrington Elks.

In the late 1950s, Richmond, making a career change, began as an advertising salesman for the Industrial Publishing Co. of Cleveland, Ohio, selling space to such freight-moving companies as Sea Land, American Airlines, and Norwegian Shipping Lines. Being based in New York City, he became their top salesman before retiring in 1986.

During retirement, he was very active in the Union Chapel of Martha’s Vineyard. He served on its Board of Trustees and was the chapel sextant for nearly three decades. He was the third member of the Greene family to help maintain the chapel’s caned chairs. He also taught chair caning at the Oak Bluffs Senior Center and often volunteered to clean fish for seniors during the fishing derby. He was an active member of the American Legion on the island. As a caretaker for several cottages in Oak Bluffs, Rich often used his handyman skills to help his summer neighbors. He was known for sharing his adages, including “Time is Money” and “Winners Never Quit and Quitters Never Win.”

Richmond was predeceased by his wife of 68 years, Dorothy A. (Greene) Greene. He leaves three daughters, Cynthia A. Lemish and her husband, Edward, of North Easton, Deirdre L. Malone and her husband, Jack, of Paxton, and Kimberly Richmond Greene and her husband, John Gray, of Boulder, Colo.; four grandchildren, Jeffery Simons of South Dakota, Erica Smith of Paxton, William Fox IX of New Jersey, and Carrie Fox of Vermont; three great-grandchildren: William Fox X, Anna Rose Fox and Samuel Simons Smith. He was predeceased by his two sisters, Alice Baker Greene and Muriel (Greene) Park.

Relatives and friends are invited to attend visiting hours are from 5 to 7 pm, Friday, June 28, with a funeral service immediately following at 7 pm at the Miles Funeral Home, 1158 Main, Holden. Burial will be held at 11 am, Saturday, June 29, in the Forestville Cemetery, Forestville, Conn.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Richmond to The Christian Union Inc. (Union Chapel), P.O. Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to the Town of Oak Bluffs Council on Aging, P.O. Box 1327, Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 or to the Alzheimer’s Association, 480 Pleasant St., Watertown, MA 02472.

To share a memory or offer an online condolence, please visit www.milesfuneralhome.com.