As a Foreign Service Officer for the United States, Richard devoted himself to providing special, diplomatic service for his country, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa. After graduating from Harvard and, then, the Stanford Business School, Richard went to Cairo University, studied Arabic, and began his diplomatic career by joining the United States Information Agency. During the 35 year career that followed, Richard served in eleven Arab countries with an additional assignment to Vietnam and to Washington D.C. on two occasions. Richard, along with his wife, Joan, completed assignments in Alexandria, Algiers, Amman, Bahrain, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus, Kuwait, Qatar, Rabat, Saigon and Tunis, serving as Information Officer, Field Operations Officer and Public Affairs Officer. Richard’s great enthusiasm for his work is seen in his recognizing the special opportunity his work allowed him in “developing bonds, presenting America’s policies, aims and goals, its multifaceted picture, promoting dialogue, hearing out others—all of which was stimulating, illuminating and… mutually beneficial…” Richard achieved the rank of Minister-Counselor and received the Career Achievement Award.
Richard passed away in 2012 at the age of 82.