Peter Anthony Richards

Peter Anthony Richards was born in Widnes, England, on February 1, 1946, and died in Sarasota, Florida on April 11, 2025. He lived a long, full life, and died surrounded by loved ones after a long illness. Predeceased by his beloved wife Pauline, his parents George and Cath, and his brother John, he is survived by his partner Sophia Bernstein, his siblings Michael Richards, Christine Pilling, and Susan Thompson, his children Neil Richards, Emma Patton, and Abby Richards, their spouses Wendy Richards, Jason Patton, and Leah Richards, and grandchildren Fiona and Declan Richards, Ellie and Drew Patton, and step-grandchildren Carter and Owen McGregor. Peter was born in the Northwest of England in the industrial town of Widnes, on the banks of the Mersey River downstream from Liverpool, in the aftermath of the Second World War to George and Catherine Richards. His father, Captain George Richards, had volunteered to serve in the British Army and was captured with his unit of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers at Tobruk in North Africa in 1942. George returned to England and his beloved Cath in the spring of 1945. In timing appropriate for an Anglo-Irish Catholic family, Peter was born nine months later, and he grew up in a boisterous household at 32 Tennyson Road filled with love, his parents, and his four siblings – older twin brothers Mike and John, and younger sisters Christine and Susan. When he was sixteen and a few months old, he met Pauline Farrell on her sixteenth birthday at a dance. Afterwards, that was that. Theirs was a love that lasted a lifetime and took them around the world. An ambitious student, Peter attended St. Edward’s College in Liverpool and the University of Birmingham, where he studied chemistry. An avid Rugby player, he once broke his arm at a tournament but continued to play on. The metal plate he had to have inserted in his forearm set off metal detectors at airports for decades. He and Pauline were married on June 3, 1968, at St. Marie’s Catholic Church in Widnes, surrounded by their large Catholic family. Their life together took them throughout the English-speaking world – from Widnes to Southampton and Manchester in England, to Bergin County, New Jersey in the United States, and to County Cork and Wicklow in Ireland. He moved permanently to the United States in 1983, and lived in Lexington, Bedford, and Norwell, Massachusetts and then in Sarasota, Florida, from 1996 until his death. Like most men in his family, Peter worked in the chemical industry, though his travels took him the furthest afield, and literally around the world several times. Though he traveled extensively, he was happiest when he was at home surrounded by his wife, Pauline, and their children, though frequently also a large pile of expense receipts that he hated filing. When Neil and Emma were at college (both attended George Washington University), the remaining family moved to Sarasota, Florida, where they lived happily until Pauline was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, shortly after she and Peter became grandparents for the first time. Pauline died after a courageous struggle in 2008, which caused Peter to literally almost die of a broken heart. He suffered an aortic aneurism five weeks after Pauline’s death at the age of 62 and despite his heart twice stopping on the operating table, he fought valiantly and remained with us in spite of his grief. An appropriate time later, he met Sophia Bernstein, who became his devoted and loving life partner in his remaining years until his death at age 79. Peter was an active participant in many organizations, whether athletic (squash, rugby refereeing, racquetball, and later youth soccer coaching when he moved to America after the locals—incorrectly—presumed that he knew lots about soccer just because he was English), philanthropic (the Sarasota Kiwanis), cultural (the Cheadle Hulme Amateur Dramatic Society, the Brit Club of Sarasota), or local (he served for several years in his retirement as the President of his homeowner’s association). In his younger years, he was a keen home improver, and no wall was safe if it could be knocked through to open things up. He loved televised sports and followed the Boston Sports teams and Liverpool Football Club (in spite of being a rugby player). Perhaps more important to him and those he loved, he was an avid cook, eater, and lover of food, who could reliably be counted on in any telephone or video call to let you know what he had for dinner that night, what he had yesterday, and what his plans were for tomorrow. He lived life to the fullest, he loved his family above all, and his loss has been deeply felt in many places, including England, Wales, St. Louis, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Colorado, and of course Sarasota. Peter was cremated at Toale Brothers Funeral Home in Sarasota. He will be remembered at a Catholic Mass attended by his loved ones at Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church, 46833 Leesburg Pike, Sterling, VA 20164, at 11am on June 6, 2025. The service will also be live-streamed to his extended family in England. Following the mass, Peter and Pauline will be interred together at nearby Herndon Chestnut Grove Cemetery. Both will be sad to have missed the feasting and celebration of their lives which will follow, though they will of course be there in spirit.

Tributes

Peter Anthony Richards

February 1, 1946 - April 11, 2025