Richard Albert Place, 83, died Friday, February 3rd at home surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Rita (DeSantis) Place; brother Bill Place of Beaverton, Oregon; sister Jane Sands of Portland, Oregon; sister-in-law Gloria Place of Beaverton; brother-in-law Ronald DeSantis and his wife Ruth; his daughter Kathy Button and her husband Warren; his son Rick Place; and his daughter Patty Nicoll and her husband Gary. He had eight beloved grandchildren: Keri Collins and her husband, Pierre; Brett Sayer and his wife, Sarah; Maxwell Nicoll; Ryan Nicoll; Jackson Place; Nicholas Button; Caitlyn Button; and Molly Place; and four great-grandchildren: Jameson Collins, Zoey Sayer, Livia Sayer, and Emmalyn Collins. He is predeceased by his parents, Glenna (Currier) Place and Anthony Place; sister Ruth Place, formerly of Waltham; sister Lois Grimes, formerly of Beaverton; and brother Don Place, formerly of Beaverton.
Richard was born August 3rd, 1933 in Lowell, MA. He spent his youth in Cambridge and Waltham and graduated from Waltham High School in 1951. He met his wife, Rita, in 1953 when they both worked at Raytheon in Andover, MA. The two married July 18th, 1954 at Holy Rosary Church in Lawrence, MA. Richard was a graduate of Salem State College of Oregon. He started his career in the early years of IT at Tektronix and Honeywell. After receiving his degree in 1973 from Northeastern University in Management Information Systems, he became an IT consultant, which allowed him to travel all over the world, living for a time in Ireland and Mexico. Richard had a lifelong love of all Boston sports, history (in particular, the American Civil War), golf, darts, and pool. No matter how busy he was, he always found time to play with his children and grandchildren. He is fondly remembered for this affection, devotion, and dedication to his family, as well as his “wicked slapshot” in neighborhood street hockey.
Due to inclement weather, calling hours for Mr. Place, originally scheduled for Thursday, February 9, 2017 from 4:00 PM until 7:00 PM have been cancelled. A funeral service will be held Friday, February 10th at the funeral home at 10:00 a.m. Per the family request, interment will follow at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer's Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave. Fl. 17 Chicago, IL 60601 or to Rockingham VNA and Hospice, 137 Epping Rd. Exeter, NH 03833 . For directions and online guestbook, please visit the funeral home website, www.pollardfuneralhome.com