Celebration of Tom Richard's Life

Last night we celebrated the life of long-time UUCA member Tom Richards, who lived an extraordinary life, and I thought you might want to read a little about him.

Thomas Witwer Richards, environmentalist, politician, and entrepreneur, died November 9, 2011 at the age of eighty-five.   He was born and raised in Cumberland, Maryland.   Upon completing high school he served in the U.S. Navy at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.   After his discharge he earned his A.B. at Dickinson College with a major in history, followed by an M.A. in history at the University of Maryland. 

While at Dickinson, Tom met Ellen Petersen of Prospect Park, Pennsylvania, whom he married in 1950.  The couple moved to the Washington, D.C. area, eventually settling in Arlington, Virginia, where they raised two children.   Tom spent much of his early career in Washington working as a photo intelligence analyst for the U.S. Air Force, and as a systems manager for IBM, Inc.     

In the late 1950s Tom became an active member of the nonpartisan political group, Arlingtonians for a Better County (ABC).   As an ABC candidate, he was twice elected to the Arlington County Board, which he chaired in 1963 and 1968.   He was also appointed to the Board in 1974 to fill a one-year vacancy.   His major interests as chair were developing the County’s library system, land-use planning, acquiring and enlarging county and regional parks, and bringing the future Metro subway system to Arlington.    Tom also served as chair of the Metropolitan Council of Government’s Land-Use Committee and its Park and Open Space subcommittee, which created the hike and bike trail that runs from Theodore Roosevelt Island to Mount Vernon, Virginia.

Tom was hired in 1967 to be the president of The Nature Conservancy.   With the help of a Ford Foundation grant and a highly motivated, capable staff, during his tenure the organization grew from a small conservation group into a nationally recognized environmental organization solely devoted to the preservation of ecologically and aesthetically valuable land.    Among the Conservancy’s accomplishments under his leadership was a significant addition to the Haleakala National Park in Hawaii.   In recognition of his work with the Conservancy, Dickinson College awarded him an honorary doctorate in 1971.

In 1972 Tom resigned from The Nature Conservancy and formed a private consulting company that evolved into “Hartzog, Lader, Richards, and White.” The company acquired land for public bodies, conducted historic and environmental inventories, and implemented scenic and preservation easement programs—one of which preserved 40,000 acres on Catalina Island, California.  The company had 130 nominations of historic sites accepted by the National Register of Historic Places, and was instrumental in the creation of the U.S. Virgin Islands National Park.

Later in his career, Tom served as executive director of the American Horticultural Society, and as vice-president and later as president of Arlington Telecommunications Company (ARTEC).   He also served as board chairman of the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (now known as the Civil War Trust).

Tom is survived by his wife of 61 years, his son, daughter, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and two grandchildren.