The Packard Club’s vice-president of publications, Bud Juneau, hired Richard as editor of The Cormorant magazine in 1975. Richard transformed this quarterly from a very “clubby” publication to one worthy of comparison with the Packard Motor Car Company’s classic 1910-1931 effort. Richard told me that he wanted to change the name of the publication to The Packard Magazine to reflect the effort, but some old timers on the Packard Club Board wanted to keep the word Cormorant in the title. That didn’t stop him from trying. On the title page of issues #28 and #29 (Autumn and Winter 1982), he lifted The Packard script, as used in the 1910s, and installed it in 80-point type, above Cormorant Magazine in 18-point type. He told me that he planned to slowly fade out the words Cormorant Magazine, first as 80%, then 60%, and so on, down to 10% or so. Bud caught wind of Richard’s plans and put the kibosh on it.

I became editor of The Packard Cormorant in 2004, and Richard contributed several articles over the years. His final contribution will be a tribute to the late artist Ken Eberts, which will be published in a month or so.

Two personal notes: In 2001, during the Packard Club’s National Meet in Canandaigua, New York, Richard and Barbara invited a select group of members to an elegant dinner, about 20 miles from the host hotel. Richard paid for everything, and even provided the wine – which flowed freely. He regaled us with tales of Packards, Winston Churchill, and other long-forgotten subjects. As I do not partake of the grape, Richard had asked me to be the designated driver, handing me the keys to his new 2001 Saab 9-5. Nearing midnight, my wife Stella, Richard, Barbara and I piled back into the Saab. I am happy to report that the drive back to the host hotel was without incident.

In 2023, Stella and I were invited by Richard and Barbara to spend a weekend with them in New Hampshire, and to take home with us his collection of Packard photographs, literature, catalogs, etc. He wanted us to bring it to the Packard Proving Grounds, which we did last year — but not before I took a year to scan the 1,900 images from them. Richard gave me permission to use anything I want in The Packard Cormorant, which I am grateful for.

Thank you, Richard, for 40-plus years of friendship, support, and high standards that I endeavor to live up to.

Though I never met Richard in person, I’ve worked with him on every issue of Collectible Automobile magazine since I took over the role as Editor-in-Chief a bit over two years ago. He wrote our Value Guide section and it was always interesting—and often unpredictable—to see what his opinions would be on a particular car.

Richard, I thank you for your skill, kindness, and assistance in the last few years. And for helping a kid from Kenosha, Wisconsin, find his passion in the automobile. You will not be forgotten.

I have been a specialist dealer in Churchill material for nearly two decades. Increasingly, my business finds itself in the position of being asked questions about Churchill’s works and life. But the person of whom I still asked questions was Richard.

Winston Churchill’s life was rich and varied beyond reasonable conception. Naturally, it draws, even now, endless referential consideration and comment. In the world of people who claim to know Churchill’s life and work, there is presumption and then there is actual erudition. Beyond, there is a further difference between erudition and authoritative expertise. There is a still further level, for which I lack suitably venerable superlatives, and which I expect was occupied solely by Richard.

Among his many endeavors and accomplishments, Richard was a specialist dealer in Churchill material – a business from which he retired before I even began in the antiquarian book trade.

The book on my desk is not one of the many Richard authored or edited. Rather, it was one about which I had a question that I thought only Richard could answer. Asking him was on my to-do list, the book sitting on the corner of my desk as a reminder and prompt, when news of his death arrived.

There will be no answer to my question. I should put the book away, but there it remains, reminding me of the significance of his loss.

My last project with him—“Churchill’s Other Mentors” a three part series on two other men who, in addition to Bourke Cockran, served as mentors to the young Churchill—is a good example that illustrates why he was a great editor. It all began because Richard wouldn’t take no for an answer. I gave him a lemon and he turned it into lemonade.

I had agreed to his request to review Mirrors Of Greatness: Churchill and the Leaders Who Shaped Him by David Reynolds. After reading a few select chapters, I couldn’t go on. The chapters were interesting enough, but these “leaders” played no role in “shaping” Churchill in the way he used the word. I wrote a long email to Richard apologizing for not being able to do a review and explained why none of these “leaders” like Hitler, Gandhi, Mussolini, Stalin et al could possibly have “shaped” Churchill in a way he would recognize.

This was Richard’s reply:

Here’s a better idea: I submit that you have reviewed the book already! If you will just give me a few of the things you disagree with … I will scoop up the rest of your email and produce a perfectly good review. I will run it by you if you wish, and send you 100 bucks for your trouble.

Which he did. At his suggestion, we then worked together to identify other people who “shaped” Churchill in the way he used the word. “Churchill’s Other Mentors” was the result.

I will really miss working with Richard. Rest in Peace.