HARPSWELL – Richard Lee Sperry passed away peacefully on July 11, 2019 with his family by his side.

Dick, also known as Beau, was born in Swarthmore, Pa. in 1942. He was raised in a warm, loving home with frequent family visits to New York museums, concerts and theater, which nurtured his abiding cultural interests.

Dick was a graduate of Friends Central School, Lehigh University, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

While visiting a friend in Baltimore during his sophomore year at Lehigh, Dick met a young woman named Betsy Doyle. He invited her for a weekend at Lehigh and she accepted. She had a sudden death in the family and had to break the date. Two years later, he called again and asked her out. Betsy accepted, and the rest is history. They were married in 1966 and remained married for the next 53 years, having two loving children, Elisabeth and Richard, Jr.

His first real job was with the investment firm Scudder, Stevens and Clark. Not only was this Dick’s first job, but also his last. He was a loyal and valued member of the firm for 35 years, rising to Managing Director of the Philadelphia office after a few years in New York. Dick was highly respected by his colleagues and clients alike. During those years he and his family lived in Bryn Mawr, Pa. and spent summers in Cape May, N.J. They bought and fixed up several classic beach houses and the children had summer jobs there. When the children were older they took several trips to Europe. Dick retired in 2002 and spent the next 17 years happily with his family enjoying summers in Harpswell, Maine and winters in Delray Beach, Fla.

Dick had many and varied interests. He had an enduring love of animals and was a past President of the Pennsylvania Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He was a Board Member of the Museum for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania) and the Bowdoin College International Music Festival. Also in Maine, he volunteered at The Coastal Humane Society, at their tent every Saturday at the local Farmers Market, introducing adoptable cats and dogs. Many families went happily home with new pets.

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While at Scudder New York Dick joined The Metropolitan Club; in Philadelphia he belonged to The Merion Cricket Club, the Racquet Club, and the Cape May Cottagers Beach Club. He was a past president of the Gulf Stream Bath and Tennis Club and a member of The Gulf Stream Golf Club. A few years ago Betsy and Beau downsized in Florida and settled in Princeton, N.J. as their permanent residence. They joined The Bedens Brook Club and The Nassau Club.

Dick is survived by his wife, Betsy; his children, Elisabeth Patterson Sperry, her husband Thaddeus Shattuck and their two children, Vera and George; Richard Lee Sperry, Jr., his wife Maria Jose Fernandez Ramirez from Sevilla, Spain and their three girls, Elena, Lydia and Julia.

Burial will be private at the family property in Maine.

In memory of Dick,

donations can be sent to:

Pennsylvania SPCA

350 Erie Ave.

Philadelphia, PA 19134

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