KENNEBUNK- Donald Augustus Richardson Sr. passed away on June 23, 2020, at Huntington Common in Kennebunk, where he had resided since 2016.Born in Yarmouth on July 20, 1929 to Mildred Hofacker and Augustus Stinchfield Richardson, he was the oldest of three who grew up in Yarmouth and summered at Crystal Lake in Gray. A technologically curious child, he took apart the dashboard of his father’s Buick as a four-year old, and assisted Elmer Ring with his local gas and coal business starting at age 12. Don attended local schools and graduated from North Yarmouth Academy in 1947, where in addition to being a math whiz, he played baseball, pool and the saxophone. He was also keenly interested in flying and radio communication, which led to studying electrical engineering at the University of Maine at Orono. The day after his graduation, he married NYA classmate Marjorie Jane Foster. Don and Marge moved to Boston where he started his career with Sylvania. They had four children, moving frequently as Don was transferred to various locations across the country. Don’s distinguished career in engineering included the invention of a portable movie camera first introduced at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, and leadership of Sylvania’s educational electronics division. He participated in a leadership program at Harvard Business School, and upon leaving Sylvania, worked for several other engineering companies. At the same time, he was an active volunteer with civic organizations, from the Lions Club to Lake Stewards of Maine. An avid ham radio operator, he always had a “ham shack” and a network of other hams with whom he communicated frequently. His love of flying also continued throughout his life. He was a licensed pilot and taught at a flight school he started with a friend, “South Jersey Flyers,” and later at small airports in Florida and Maine. He was also a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight, and firewatcher for the Maine Forest Service. Don was very proud of his Piper Cherokee, which he finally let go of as he turned 80. As a volunteer for the Crystal Lake Association and Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Association), he was a water quality monitor on Crystal Lake and assisted with grant writing and other projects.In retirement, Don and Marge travelled widely and spent winters at their home in New Port Richey, Florida, and summers at Crystal Lake in Gray, Maine. They moved to Huntington Common in 2016. Marge passed away there in 2018. Don’s family is grateful to Dr. Katherine Hannify and her associates, and the staff of Huntington Common for their compassionate care. Don is survived by his two sisters, Sylvia Richardson and Lois Hammann, both of Skowhegan; daughter Debra Richardson Smith and her husband Douglas Smith of New Gloucester, their son Jordan Smith and his wife Jill and their daughter Alice of Pownal, Maine., daughter Hilary and her husband David Stephenson and their children Layla and Isaac of Durham, Maine; daughter Sandra Richardson of Old Orchard Beach, ME., her son Wesley Burhoe and his wife Amy and their children Jack and Eli of Sugar Hill, N.H., and her daughter Tamlyn Burhoe of Philadelphia, Pa.; daughter Laura Richardson and her husband David Robison of Yarmouth, their son Ryan Pogonyi and his wife Meredith and their children Avery, Henry and Noah of Denver, Colo., daughter Christina and her husband Paul Tuoni and their daughters Isabella and Caroline of Wilmington, Del., and daughter Katherine and her husband Drew O’Malley and their daughter Reagan and son Rory of Oahu, Hawaii; and son Donald Richardson, Jr. and his wife Susan of Nashua, NH and children, Kyle Richardson and his wife Maryna Kavalenka and their son Leon of Seattle, Wash., and Benjamin of Nashua, N.H.Services will be private.Anyone wishing to make a donation in memory of Donald Richardson may contribute to the Crystal Lake AssociationPO Box 417Gray, ME 04039

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