Richard Arthur West of Contoocook, NH, went to heaven in the early morning hours of April 22, 2023. Dick grew up in Chester, NH, attended Chester schools, and graduated from Pinkerton Academy in 1959. He remained active in Pinkerton’s alumni activities until the end of his life.
Dick was a Certified Public Accountant, vocationally and at heart. He traced his CPA origins to a detailed income and expense record that he created as a child to document a family farm’s blueberry sales. Bentley College gave him his formal training, and he graduated cum laude in 1969. Dick practiced accounting at Coopers & Lybrand in Boston and as a partner at Nathan Wechsler & Co. in Concord, NH. He served as CFO at Bay State Produce in Chelsea, MA, and at other small companies. And in support of his wife Ann’s profession, he volunteered as treasurer of the New England Association of Teachers of English and the New Hampshire Council of Teachers of English. Dick cared about the financial health of organizations and individuals, and he gave generously of his time to help them thrive.
No one ever confused Dick’s professional interests with his real love, though. Dick married Ann Garland on July 12, 1969, and they shared 53 loving years together. Together, Ann and Dick were a force of nature. They supported each other’s careers and built rich personal lives together. And while they had different interests, they embraced each other’s. Dick loved cars and auto racing, and Ann learned to love NASCAR. They were regulars at NH Motor Speedway and treasured their annual race trip to Las Vegas. Ann taught English, and while Dick was an ambivalent student early in life, he learned to both respect and enjoy the English language. Whether it was writing a dear friend’s obituary or a travel journal or the countless class of ‘59 updates that he drafted for the Pinkerton Alumnus, friends and family loved reading Dick’s honest, funny, and heartfelt prose.
Dick and Ann traveled extensively together, chasing their shared curiosity about the world. Their coffee table is layered in photo books, full of Dick’s travelogues from Hawaii, California, Ottawa, St. Louis, Las Vegas, Boston, Florida, Russia, Sweden, Estonia, and many other places. But they especially enjoyed sharing time in their beloved New Hampshire, like their annual holiday trip to Bethlehem, where Dick the stamp enthusiast enjoyed sending their Christmas cards with the local postmark.
While at home, Dick enjoyed classical music, stamp collecting, keeping up with correspondence, and tending to their historic home, Hampshire Hall. And Dick was rarely without a note pad to jot down things that he wanted to learn, from how to grow mushrooms, to recycling methods, to the next biography he hoped to read. In recent times, he became a student of kidney health, ensuring that he understood his prognosis and treatments. And in true Dick fashion, he used what he learned to advocate for fellow dialysis patients and to help those who were new to treatment.
Dick and Ann’s shared interests include a lifetime of service to Pinkerton Academy. Dick served as President of the Alumni Association and Chair of the Alumni Building’s restoration. He was elected to the Academy’s Hall of Fame and bestowed the Trustees’ Meritorious Service Award. But he most enjoyed serving as the Correspondent for the Class of 1959, a labor of love that kept him connected to childhood friends. Together, Dick and Ann enjoyed hosting post-reunion gatherings for the class at their home.
Dick treasured his family and friends, who appreciated his generous soul, his attentiveness, and his dedication. He leaves behind his “girls” and their families: niece Rebecca Garland Martin and husband Joel; Lydia Gould Bessler, husband John, and daughter Saffron; and Kristen Gould Burnham, husband Keith, son Evan and daughter-in-law Laura, and son Greg. He also leaves his brother-in-law and friend Robert Garland. They made his life very special. To Ann, his beloved wife, who shared her life with him, he gave his greatest love. Dick will be missed by all of them and by so many others who were fortunate to have known him.
Calling hours will be held from 4 - 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 27, 2023, at Peabody Funeral Home and Crematorium, 15 Birch St., Derry, NH. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to a charity of your choice in honor of Dick.