Richard Bancroft Hedberg was born Thursday, January 26th, 1933 in Worcester, MA. He was the 3rd of 4 children given to Herbert Emmanuel Hedberg of Boston, MA, a Harvard graduate and OB/GYN, and Leone Beryl Irish of Auburn, ME, a Bates College graduate. He attended Fessenden School of West Newton, MA and Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, NH, where he graduated in 1951. He went on to Harvard University but left school as a Sophomore to serve in the United States Army overseas as a medical technician during the final year of the Korean Conflict. He returned in 1955 to finish his Associates degree in accounting at Bentley University.
He married Wellesley College student Ellen Carey Day in late Spring of 1958. They had 3 children together: Alison Hedberg of Anchorage, AK, Ellen Richardson of Cross Plains, WI, and John Hedberg of Brookline, MA. He was also later married to Cameron Goodwin Kaiser of Louisville, KY, a schoolteacher with a refined ear and a love of growing things.
Richard was predeceased by his parents and his eldest brother, Stephen E. Hedberg. He is survived by his elder brother David Hedberg of Port St. Lucie, FL, his sister Nancy Whatley of Topsham, ME, his 3 children, his 2 grandchildren, Ian and Isaac Richardson, and a great many thriving nieces, nephews, and their wonderful children, with whom he enjoyed sharing food and fun.
Dick Hedberg had a wicked sense of humor, and his sardonic t-shirt collection was famous. He loved cops, U.S servicemen, the Constitution, and the American flag, and he strongly believed in the founding principles of American democracy. He enjoyed all kinds of music, often harmonizing the bass part of what was playing on the radio with a vocal instinct perfected in childhood choir. He had a particular love for Beethoven. He also played the piano; a favorite hymn was “Stand up, Stand up for Jesus”. He loved the family farm in Maine. He rarely did things as a matter of form, but what he did was sincere and no less meaningful. He loved dogs and children. Lobsters across New England lived in terror of his grin.
If you’d like to make a memorial contribution in his name, again, he loved dogs, this country, servicemen of all stripes, and children. Take your pick!
I think he’d also like to express his thanks (along with his children) to the staff, doctors, and incredible nurses of the Vernon Cancer Center, the Newton-Wellesley Hospital, and of Good Shepherd Community Care, all in Newton, MA. Great work!
Interment services will be held at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Auburn, ME in late August.