Obituary of Bryan Ronald Richards

Bryan Ronald Richards, 39 PEABODY - Bryan Ronald Richards, 39, of Pine Brook Drive, beloved husband of Elaine (Manning) Richards of Peabody, died suddenly and unexpectedly after falling in the Pemigewasset River at Franconia Falls in Lincoln, NH on Oct. 17th, while trying to rescue his dog. He was born in Evanston, IL on Feb. 3, 1964, and grew up in Andover, Connecticut, attending Andover Elementary School, R.H.A.M. Regional High School, and Eastern CT State University. With a well-developed mind for logic and mathematics, he went on to study electronics and computer programming at Computer Processing Institute to prepare for his career as a Systems Engineer. Bryan and Elaine lived in the Manchester, CT area before moving to Malden and then Peabody, where they had resided for the last three years. Besides his wife, Bryan’ s family includes his son Jeremy Rich of Manchester, CT, his mother Nancy Peters Richards of Andover, CT, his father and wife Ronald and Elaine Bleau Richards of Gloucester, MA, his brother Christopher, sister-in-law Susan and nephew Cameron of Nashville, TN, his grandmother Virginia Richards of Daytona Beach, FL and his adored yellow lab puppy Topaz. Bryan was Director of Information Systems with American Student Assistance (ASA), a student loan organization based in the Boston area, for seven successful years. He had past positions with American Airlines, Digital Equipment, James River and Aetna. Bryan was an intelligent, witty and generous man, who was extremely loyal to loved ones, devoted to Topaz and loved to make people laugh. He enjoyed technology and making use of his mechanical abilities, while balancing his life with a love of the outdoors, animals, especially dogs, science fiction and Star Trek adventures. He had earned his Private Pilots License and enjoyed travel, hiking, SCUBA diving, white-water rafting and skydiving. Bryan was an avid Boston Red Sox fan and regularly attended spring training in Florida. Bryan and Elaine recently celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary on Cape Cod, and he was preparing for a family celebration of his 40th birthday in Florida in February. He was predeceased by his maternal grandparents, Ernest and Irene Peters, his paternal grandfather Robert B. Richards and an uncle Jerome Peters, all of Evanston IL. A Funeral Service to commemorate his life will be held on November 8th with calling hours from 8:30 - 10:30 AM at the Cahill-Brodeur facility at 20 Church St. of the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, in Peabody, followed by a Funeral Mass at 11 AM at St. Adelaide’ s Church, 708 Lowell Street in Peabody to which relatives and friends are kindly invited. A Memorial Service will also be held on December 6th in CT, at a location to be determined. In lieu of flowers, donations to establish a hiking safety program for children in Bryan’ s memory may be sent to Bryan Richards Memorial Fund, Attention Lola Morse, U.S.D.A., White Mountain National Forest, 719 Main St., Laconia, NH 03246, or to Habitat for Humanity.