Young, Dr. Richard William of Needham formerly of Wellesley Hills, an accomplished chemist, business executive and adored family man, passed peacefully on August 4, 2017.
Dr. Young held more than 50 patents on pharmaceutical and photographic products and is the inventor of Neptazane, the first drug designed for the treatment of glaucoma. His early career began at Lederle Laboratories in NJ and American Cyanamid in CT. He was a senior executive at the Polaroid Corporation from 1962-1982 serving as Senior Vice President of Research and Development and later as President of the International Division. Dr. Young played a key role in the development and marketing of Polaroid’s revolutionary products. After Polaroid, he served as president of Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston MA and Chairman/CEO of Mentor Ophthalmics, Rockland, MA. Dr. Young served on several corporate boards including Mentor Corporation, Santa Barbara, CA, Instron Corporation, Canton, MA and Bay State Milling, Quincy, MA.
Dr. Young was born in Brooklyn NY in 1926 to Charles Young and Louise Baust. Charles was a Lieutenant in the New York Fire Department. After attending public schools in Brooklyn, Richard attended City College of NY, then Dartmouth College where he graduated in 1946. He went on to study organic chemistry at Columbia University where he received his Masters and his Doctorate degree.
His wife of 63 years, Sheila deLisser Young, passed away in 2010. Dr. Young is survived by four children, Christine Young of Issaquah, WA, Noreen Young of Wayland MA, Brian Young of New Canaan CT and Eileen Young of Boston MA, five grandchildren and three great grandchildren.
During his life, Dr. Young was involved with many charitable organizations and has been a Trustee of Trinitas Foundation; the International Chamber of Commerce; the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA; and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary. He Chaired the Advisory Council of the International Business Center of New England and was a past member of the Presidential Commission on Executive, Legislative and Judicial Salaries, and Northeastern University Corporation. One of his great joys in life was his affiliation with Regis college where he served in various board capacities from 1968 to the present. When the college became an independent corporation in 1972, he became one of the first Trustees. He was elected to the Regis Corporation in 1983 and served as Chair of the Board for several years. Regis College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 2002.
Richard spent his life truly adored……by his parents, wife, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. His family, friends and colleagues treasure the memories and the time spent together.
There will be a Memorial Service at Regis College, Weston, MA on Thursday August 10 at 10:30am a reception will follow at Regis College. Relatives and friends kindly invited. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to: Regis College, 235 Wellesley Street, Box 30 Weston, MA 02493 781-768-7240 https://alumni.regiscollege.edu/Regisfund For online guestbook, gfdoherty.com.