Richard was born in Concord, New Hampshire in 1929. He graduated from Concord High School in 1947 and later completed a course of study at a plumbing and heating trade school in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Richard married his high school sweetheart, Joan, in 1950. They were married for 51 years until her death in 2001.
After returning from a Niagara Falls honeymoon, Richard and Joan, with the help of his father, built their first home on a lovely plot of land on Dimond Hill in Concord. Richard established Dimond Industries and purchased a sawmill in Hopkinton from which he ran his lumber company for several years. The couple briefly lived at West Point in Newburgh, NY, where Dick served in the Army during the Korean War.
Richard worked as a bank teller at National State Capital Bank in Concord before purchasing his home heating oil business, Ken Ross Oil Company, in the early 1960’s, thus reaching his long time goal of owning a business and of being his own boss. Richard and Joan soon found a piece of land in Hopkinton. Joan designed their new home with Richard built to accommodate their growing family and new business. He ran Ken Ross Oil successfully until retiring and selling the business in 1987 at the age of 58. During his retirement, Dick enjoyed working on the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad as a conductor, entertaining the many passengers on board as well as volunteering in many capacities with other organizations.
Richard was an avid swimmer, boater and water-skier, even crafting his own set of homemade waterskies. He belonged to the Winnipesaukee Water Ski Club for many years. Richard and Joan enjoyed many excursions in their motorhome, the most ambitious of which was a cross country trip in 1977. Dick also enjoyed reading and carpentry, but he was most passionate about helping others.
Some of the many organizations he belonged to or held volunteer positions with are: Kimball Pond Association, Salvation Army, Hopkinton Fire Department and Ambulance squad, and the Hopkinton Fair Association. Most notably Richard donated over 8500 hours to the Mr. Fixit program, for which he received the Spirit of New Hampshire Award in 2006 from Governor Lynch, recognizing outstanding contributions in volunteerism. Also, he donated over 60 gallons of blood to the Red Cross during his lifetime.
Dick was well known for his love of the color red and affinity for Lawrence Welk’s music and television variety show. He will be remembered for his quirky sense of humor, integrity, kindness, love of family and willingness to help others.
Richard is survived by his four children, David Gourley of Wells, Maine, Susan Gourley Callahan of Hopkinton, Douglas Gourley of Hopkinton, and Scott Gourley of Washington, DC, as well as one granddaughter, Pamela Gourley-Delaney and two great grandchildren, Rhys Delaney and Gwyneth Delaney of Clayton, California, and other loving family.
A celebration of life will be held on December 2, 2017 at the First Congregational Church of Hopkinton, in Hopkinton, New Hampshire at 1:00pm and will be led by the Reverend Gordon L Crouch. There will be no visitation hours. Arrangements are being handled by the Bennett Funeral Home of Concord.
The family would like to thank the staff members of Age At Home healthcare service, Presidential Oaks senior living facility, and Concord Regional VNA for the kind and loving care they provided during Richard’s final years.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at https://www.BennettFuneral.com for the Gourley family.
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