Robert H. Richardson

Robert Harry Richardson passed away on October 3, 2026, after a short but courageous battle with cancer.

He was born in Lawrence, MA to Harry Richardson and Marjorie (Estey) Richardson 81 years ago.

His family moved to Bedford, NH at the age of 8 and he attended Manchester West High School, graduating in 1962. He was a member of the National Honor Society and went on to attend UNH for two years until both UNH and he decided to part ways.

In 1966 he married the love of his life, Patricia Ann (Paiement) whom he lovingly called “Freddie”. They had an incredible marriage recently celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. Together Bob and Pat raised their three children: daughter Leigh Anne Richardson (husband Kimo Murphy) and son Karl Richardson (wife Julie Pelliccione). Eric was the youngest who passed away in 1995 from a motorcycle accident. He also leaves behind three grandchildren who adoringly called him Bahtsi: Granddaughter Bryanne Townsend, Grandson Bobby Richardson and Granddaughter Jenna Richardson, a sister Beth Kelly (husband Mike), several nieces and nephews and a close circle of friends that he and Pat loved going out to dinner with often.

Bob and Pat loved to spend time together and enjoyed traveling together, visiting 43 states and over 27 European countries. They enjoyed going to dinner and dining at many local restaurants with each other, family and friends. Thursday night hockey or football games at Billy’s with the kids and grandkids were the norm for them. Every Friday they had a standing date at Chens Garden, often meeting up with friends there.

Bob spent years with Manchester Regional Youth Hockey and the Manchester Flames, both as the president of the league and a coach. He served on the board of directors, but he more enjoyed coaching young men, improving their hockey skills and hopefully helping them to become solid young adults. He believed strongly in doing your best in everything you chose to do. He believed in strong character. He led by example and infused those beliefs into everything he did.

He worked at Velcro USA for two years (where he met his future wife) and then on the advice of a close friend interviewed for a job at New England Telephone and Telegraph. He got the job and his career was underway. In his career he went from climbing telephone poles to working on complex telephone networks consisting of routers and servers.

He started at New England Telephone and kept doing the same type of work for 49 years. New England Telephone later went on to become known as American Bell, AT&T, Lucent and Avaya. He retired in 2000 and then worked at Putnam Investments, Telaid Communications and finally Carousel Industries. He never refused any training on equipment that would make him better at what he did.

Bob decided to go back to school after 31 years and obtained his Associate’s Degree and later his Bachelor of Arts in Humanities Degree from UNH. While working on his degrees he uncovered a hidden talent for writing which led to several “Writing Across the Curriculum” awards. He was both surprised to receive these awards and proud to have his work recognized.

He was also somewhat surprised when he decided to retire as he had always thought he would happily die at work with no thought of retirement. But much like pro athletes, he knew when the time had come to hang them up. He knew he was getting older and had gone through several major operations and amputations and was absent more than present, so he did hang them up. He enjoyed many years of retirement. He enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles and writing. He was never bored.

Bob was predeceased by his parents, Harry and Marjorie Richardson (Estey), his in-laws George and Irene Paiement (Johnsen) and his beloved son, Eric Gunnar Richardson.

SERVICES: Calling hours will be Thursday, October 8, 2026 from 4-7 PM at Lambert Funeral Home & Crematory, 1799 Elm Street, Manchester. A Funeral gathering will be held Friday, October 9, 2026 at 11AM in the Lambert Funeral Home Chapel. Burial will follow at Pine Grove Cemetery, 765 Brown Ave., Manchester.