Paul C. (Chuck) Richardson Jr. of New Canaan, passed away from Alzheimer’s disease on Sept. 22. He was 84.
Paul Richardson Jr, 84, passed away Sept. 22. His funeral will be held on Saturday, Nov. 5.
He was born on April 16, 1938, in Philadelphia to Paul Charles Richardson and Josephine Patterson Richardson. He moved to Darien at age 3 and lived here for most of his life. After graduating from The Lawrenceville School, in Princeton, New Jersey, he continued his education at Dartmouth College, finishing in 1960.
He married his wife, Mary Bloom, on Sept. 3, 1960, shortly before entering the Marine Corps and shipping off to Quantico. He then spent his time as an intelligence officer with a Marine attack squadron, including a year in Iwakuni, Japan, before returning to civilian life with his family.
In 1963, Chuck started his career in sales, at Owens-Corning Fiberglas Corp. in Denver, before moving back to Darien in 1965 to transition into advertising in New York City as an account executive at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample, Ted Bates & Co, Inc. and J. Walter Thompson. He later began what would be an extensive career in the executive search business as an executive recruiter, working for Boyden Associates Inc. before joining Korn Ferry International as a senior partner and managing director in the legal practice, then retired.
It was during his time at Korn Ferry that he became especially devoted to God and his church. He grew up attending Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien and after retirement was fortunate to be able to serve there in various capacities, including spending time with the men at Pivot Ministries, counseling through the Stephen Ministries, serving the Norwalk Open Door Shelter, and going on mission trips.
Chuck’s other passion was sports. He was a lifelong Phillies fan. He was a ranked tennis player in New England as a junior. He became an avid skier, and a competitive platform tennis and squash player. He also ran over 25 marathons, including New York and London, some alongside his daughter. His best time and one of his proudest sports accomplishments was a 2:59:30 finish.
In his later years, he threw his competitive spirit into golf, where he and Mary jointly spent much of their free time. Chuck also loved to play the guitar, entertaining friends and family with his yodeling and songwriting.
Surviving Chuck is his wife of 62 years, Mary; his son, Paul C. Richardson III (wife Julie) of Franklin, Massachusetts; and daughter, Amy Richardson Shay (husband Chris) of Wilton; as well as his four grandchildren: Alexandra (Ally), Mary Statler (Mimi), Ian and Lola.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 5 at Noroton Presbyterian Church. Contributions in memory of Chuck may be made to the Open Door Shelter, 4 Merritt St., Norwalk, CT 06854.
— an obituary from Lawrence Funeral Home, where online condolences may be left